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[WP] In our quest to retreat to the mountains, away from the common folk, we instead found eachother
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The wind blew harder than ever before when you arrived. You were bent over and your dirty blonde hair swept behind you like a flag on a ship. I stood atop a rock and watched as you approach, each step ten times more tiresome than the one before. A look of disbelief was the last thing you made before passing out. \n\nI dragged you underneath the rock. Lighting a fire was impossible with the wild gusts blowing from all sides. So I just kept waiting until you woke up.\n\nYour eyes were maroon, and spoke of a long journey. Grunting wildly, you ate every piece of meat I could offer you. \n\n\"Where do you come from?\" I asked.\n\n\"From far away. I had to leave my home, I was no longer safe there.\" \nYour stomach rumbled.\n\n\"Why did you run?\" \n\nYou wiped your fingers on your muddy red dress. \"I was accused of being a witch. They were going to burn me on the stake but I broke free and ran away.\"\n\n\"*Are* you a witch?\" I shuffled back.\n\n\"No.\" You said, before picking your teeth with your nails.\n\nI decided to stay silent for the rest of the day. I left you under the rock and went on a scavenger hunt. A small rabbit and some berries where the only useful things I could find.\n\nAt nightfall, you spoke again. It was the first time I realised your accent wasn't from here. \"And you? Why do you live all alone in the mountains?\"\n\n\"I've been accused too, though it was a right accusation.\" \n\nNow it was your turn to shuffle back. \"Of what?\"\n\n\"I killed a man. He...was sleeping with my wife. I caught them in the act one night and killed him. My wife ran screaming outside and I had to run. The mountains seemed like the safest place. I am not sure if I still think that.\" I took a branch and twisted it between my fingertips. A log crackled in the fire I had set up.\n\n\"Can I stay for an indetermined amount of time?\"\n\n\"I'm not sure. Two mouths to feed is more than one. You can stay, but you'll have to find food too. Or anything else that could help us.\"\n\nYou nodded. I kicked sand into the fire and we went to sleep. \n\nWe kept living under the rock for three months. Never did we ask each other our names. Why would we? We were the only people around. It was at the end of those three months that we first kissed. I don't remember why anymore, it just happened. But ever since you arrived, I had felt love for you. You were an outcast like me, wanted by no one. You showed knowledge of survival, of strength. And never did you ask for too much.\n\nWe were on a scavenger hunt longer than ever before. I had suggested we'd go look behind the southern mountains, knowing that they stood closest to civilisation. It's not that we wanted that, quite the contrary, but we hoped that there'd be valuable wares closer to humanity. I had made a backpack of rabbit leather and we stored every piece of dried food we could find. I reckoned we probably wouldn't return to the rock anyway. \n\nIt was behind the mountains that we found the cabin. Abandoned and still intact, it was like a mansion for us. The woods surrounding it had plenty of game, ripe for the hunt. And so we settled. But we knew we weren't alone in the woods.\n\nSometimes we heard them shouting, the Indians. They probably knew we were here too. You were afraid at first, but when after a while they still didn't make contact with us, you just accepted that they'd be there, not bothering us. \n\nWe felt invincible in our cabin. Us against the world, with nothing left to lose. Fools we were.\n\nSo now you're lying on your deathbed. Dysentery, I think. Your eyes shift across the room and your forehead feels like the sun. I don't think you have long to live. It's good to know that we lived with each other still. Because in our quest to retreat to the mountains, we instead found each other."
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[WP] "So we've given them automatic weapons, artillery and NUCLEAR WEAPONS and they still haven't wiped themselves off the planet?!"
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"God looked at his Son and asked, \"How are the humans doing? Are they following my laws and spreading the Good News?\"\n\nJesus nodded, he knew that the Father knows all, \"They are, some more than others, some faster than others. Some that have come to Me are struggling to hold on for dear life. Some desperately seek Us day and night, confusing themselves in circles. Others could not care less. But as a whole, they are thriving.\"\n\nSatan scowled, \"Indeed, they are. I have helped them advance their military technologies leaps and bounds. I have given them guns that fire hundreds of rounds in a minute. Bombs that wipe entire cities from the face of the Earth.\"\n\nGod turned to the Accuser, his tone was anything but happy, \"You what?! Automatic weapons, and nukes! You gave them nukes?! How have they not wiped themselves off of the planet?\"\n\nJesus smiled, it was a bittersweet thing filled with pain, but also love, \"I told you that I believed in them. That I believed in their ability to spread light and not darkness.\"\n\nSatan scoffed, \"They used the nukes twice, and seemed to learn their lesson. Every time that I give them a new weapon to play with, they use it and then decide it is... What's the word? Oh, right, inhumane.\"\n\nGod laughed, \"Inhumane, so like them to choose a word that includes their species name as a way to denote something they should not do.\"\n\nJesus sighed, \"Yes, by the same token humane is something they should be doing. I did affect them, didn't I Father?\"\n\nGod nodded this time, \"You did, Son. Even though Earth is so twisted, your sacrifice has made it better.\"\n\nSatan growled, \"The crusades made life more humane, did it?\"\n\nJesus' eyes narrowed as he looked at the devil, \"We both know that my people didn't spur on such hatred.\"\n\nGod lifted his hand, \"Enough, I am not listening to this argument again. Jesus already took the blame, for all sides. If the little ones only knew how much it truly cost him...\"\n\nSatan bowed low, \"Truer words were never spoken, Almighty Elohim.\"\n\nJesus looked off into the distance, his mind wandered to memories that should be forgotten, of a godless place full of fire and brimstone. Then he looked Satan in the eyes, \"You're welcome.\"\n\nSatan bowed even lower, \"I have learned my lesson as well. It is not easy to be God and I was never meant for the role.\"\n\nGod brought the subject back to the matter at hand, \"What will the two of you do next?\"\n\nSatan smirked, \"Well, I gave them the biggest particle accelerator a few years ago. They used it to find the God Particle as they like to call it.\"\n\nJesus grimaced at that, \"Do you hear that, Father? We have been reduced to a type of particle!\"\n\nGod shrugged, \"So long as they remember that I am here and that they cannot tread in my territory without your sacrifice, my Son.\"\n\nSatan's temper flared, \"You always were more lenient with them! You created a lake of fire for me and mine. But for them, you just let them disappear into nothingness. Why do you love them so?\"\n\nJesus glared at the Accuser, \"I could ask of you the same. Had you not loved them more than you loved the Father, we would all still be in the garden.\"\n\nSatan smirked, \"But would that have been as fun?\"\n\n\"Fun! You think what I went through was fun?!\" The flash of righteous anger that seeped into the voice of Jesus chilled the fallen angel to his non-existent bones. \n\nSatan trembled at the fury within the Son of Man, \"I did not mean any disrespect, Lord. I know what you went through, and now that I know the truth, it gives me no pleasure to remember it. I apologize for my careless words.\"\n\nThe Christ breathed deeply and calmed himself as he had many times over the last two millennia, \"It is forgiven, but you should watch your tongue. It has always gotten you into trouble.\"\n\n\"I will keep that in mind, Lord.\" Replied the former rebel, he turned to leave. He stopped himself, \"Is there anything the two of you require of me before I return to Earth?\"\n\nThe supreme ruler of all creation laughed, \"You know that I have no needs, Lucy. Though, I am happy to see you consider the needs of others again.\"\n\nJesus nodded his agreement, \"To think you would ever be like this again, a miracle indeed.\"\n\nLucifer smiled and disappeared, leaving behind one last sentence to echo around the throne room, \"The power of God's love is the most amazing thing!\"\n\nr/TheSyXan"
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[WP] Being a dark knight in service to the kingdom has it's perks. You get to hangout with your childhood friend the princess as her bodyguard. On the other hand, you have already lost count on how many adventurers have mistaken you for kidnapping her when escorting her outside of the kingdom.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"For fuck's sake, Alherax, you cannot keep eating them!\"\n\nI didn't even glance up, too busy licking the blood from my claws. We'd already had this conversation once this week. \n\nShe paced back and forth while I continued to ignore her agitation. \"How many times do we have to go through this? People talk!\"\n\nI huffed, lashing my tail and putting a sizeable divot in the ground where it fell. \"Clearly they don't talk nearly enough, or they would be aware of the custom of our kingdom. Royalty are protected by dragons. If the fact that we're wearing matching crests on our adornments somehow manages to escape their notice, then by my reckoning I'm doing your kind a favor by culling the stupidest from the population.\"\n\nShe scowled up at me. \"You got blood on my leggings.\"\n\n\"Tough,\" I snapped, dipping my shoulder and positioning my foreleg so that she could climb up and grab hold of the spines along my neck.\n\nI didn't bother pointing out that the saddle she was riding in when the blundering fool came across us was an even bigger clue that perhaps she was accompanying me of her own free will. She was surly enough. Frankly, so was I. We were on our way through a forest without a clearing in sight, so taking to the skies was out of the question. We wouldn't have to deal with these moronic \"adventurers\" otherwise. Thus, I lumbered off through the trees in sullen silence.\n\nWe'd been traveling for days at this point, searching for a spring hidden deep in the forest from which unicorns often came to drink. Little Miss Princess was secretly learning magic on the side, you see, and she needed a unicorn's hair for a spell she was going to attempt. \n\n\"You'd better hope that one of those beasts caught their mane on a branch,\" I grumbled. \"If you think they're going to show once they catch a dragon's scent, you're as dumb as the men who keep trying to rescue you.\"\n\n\"I'm counting on it,\" she replied, ignoring my jibe. \"Unicorns only approach virgins, you know that.\" \n\nI swung my head around to scowl at her. \"I still haven't quite forgiven you for that little jaunt.\"\n\n\"Oh, hush. I got back into the castle just fine. He never knew who I was.\"\n\n\"It was still dangerous,\" I growled. \"And you didn't even tell me you were going.\" This had been a point of contention between us for a while. I'd never admit it outright, but my feelings had been rather hurt when she failed to confide in me that she was planning to go spend an evening out disguised as a commoner. \n\n\"You would have stopped me from going, and you know it.\" Her voice softened. \"I know we've been together since I was born and you were barely more than a hatchling. But we're grown now. Things don't have to change much, Alherax, but they will change. There's no avoiding it.\"\n\nI kept trudging on, my ears and wings drooping a bit. \"I know,\" I whispered. She yanked on one of my spines, hard. \"Oh, what, are we sulking now? Is that what we're doing?\"\n\n\"I am not sulking,\" I muttered. \"I'm brooding.\"\n\n\"You're sulking.\"\n\n\"Fine,\" I snapped. \"Perhaps I should sing you a jaunty little tune, then? Is that what you want?\" Some dragons could sing, and sing beautifully. I could not. I'd been told more than once I sounded like a dying animal.\n\n\"Gods, no. You'll have every adventurer within a mile riding our way to perform a mercy killing. On both of us.\"\n\n\"Let's hope there aren't any within a mile. They're becoming quite tiresome.\"\n\nThe spring was near; the smell of unicorns was about us, though faded. I fervently hoped that when we found it, there weren't any adventurers there waiting for us. I just wanted to get her home so I could stop worrying about the inevitability of us growing apart and start worrying about her blowing herself up while attempting a spell beyond her abilities, or worse. Heaven forbid her father find out about her new hobby. He'd have my hide to outfit every solder in the castle in dragonscale armor if he knew the real reason for our journeying beyond the castle walls. I paused when I felt her jump down out of the saddle, grateful to find her happy to simply walk alongside me as a friend the rest of the way. Soon enough she'd light up with glee upon finding what we were after, and the bickering would come to an end. Maybe growing up won't be so bad. Maybe I worry too much. \n\nShe patted my leg. \"If I can pull this spell off, then I might be able to craft one that'll let me breathe underwater. I don't suppose you know where we can get ahold of a mermaid's scale, do you?\"\n\nI sighed. Maybe not.",
"\"Touch that sword again and I might be forced to literally disarm you.\" Isaac Quist stated seriously, pointing his blade at the man in front of him. \n\nThe hostile man was not alone, or at least he hadn't been just some few minutes ago. His colleagues were on the ground, writhing in pain after a short skirmish with the young hooded Dark Knight. The man watched Isaac keenly, the youth had already bested him twice, disarming him without actually injuring him. The man understood Isaac's words though, if he chose to fight, he'd lose his arm. \n\nAnyone would have second thoughts about fighting the same opponent again after being bested twice, but the man was not going to back down, not when the princess's freedom depended on it. He rushed for his sword, and Isaac sighed in frustration as his opponent again came at him. Well, he'd made a threat, and his reputation demanded he honour it.\n\nIsaac studied his opponent as the man charged him with his sword raised above his head. Isaac's opponent was large and heavyset, the muscles on the man's body proved that he was used to doing things the hard way, the scars on his body were a testament to the fact that he'd fought numerous battles. Isaac could tell all these just by looking at his opponent, but it did not faze him. He knew his skills were superior and he felt like giving his opponent more of a chance so he sheathed his sword and pulled out a dagger.\n\nThe man reached Isaac and brought down his sword in a vicious slash, prompting Isaac to raise his dagger to parry the attack. The young knight then attacked, thrusting his blade at the man's abdomen. The man grabbed Isaac's attacking arm and shook the dagger free of Isaac's grasp before delivering a kick directly to the youngster's chest, sending him sprawling across the forest floor. Isaac swallowed his scream of pain, and rose to his knees, watching his opponent in a new light.\n\nOkay maybe the dagger had been too cocky of an idea, Isaac thought, pulling free his sword. No more games. He awaited his opponent's next attack as the man charged again, confident now that he'd landed a hit on the young knight. Isaac did not share in his opponent's newfound joy. Done playing with his prey now, he easily parried the man's slash to the side, and then counterattacked, ramming the pommel of his sword right into the man's face, breaking his nose.\n\nThe man grunted and stepped back in pain, bringing his hand to his nose. In his discomfort, he failed to see Isaac go for his legs with a low kick. The man fell heavily, and Isaac raised his sword, intending slice off his opponent's arm. Before he could bring the blade down, an amused voice stopped him.\n\n\"You've made your point, Isaac, that would be enough.\" Princess Esna Thorne stated from her position. She was leaned against a large tree and had watched the whole spectacle, only stepping in as she usually did when someone was about to get seriously hurt. \n\nIn fact she had orchestrated the whole stunt.\n\n\"Thank your lucky stars.\" Isaac stated coldly to the man on the ground before getting to his feet and turning to the princess. \"Why you always got to ruin the fun, Esna?\"\n\n\"They thought they were rescuing me.\" Princess Esna smiled cheekily, \"so I felt the need to rescue them from you.\"\n\n\"Next time, I\"ll watch while you fight.\" Isaac pointed out, sheathing his sword.\n\n\"You two know each other?\" The man Isaac had fought asked as he slowly rose from the ground.\n\n\"He's a friend, and my bodyguard.\" Princess Esna answered sweetly, pointing to Isaac. \"Oh you're bleeding, Isaac didn't hurt you bad, did he?\"\n\n\"But you said...\" The man began.\n\n\"I know what I said.\" Princess Esna ruthlessly cut him off. \"It's a prank I like to play on Isaac whenever he escorts me outside the kingdom. Pretend to be kidnapped so adventurers like yourself would try to save me. So far none of your kind have succeeded in defeating Isaac.\"\n\n\"So there you have it,\" Isaac said out loud. The man's colleagues were on their feet now. \"This goes to show that you should always be sure of what you're jumping into. You guys nearly got yourselves killed because of a prank. Don't be so trustful of beautiful women alright.\"\n\nAs the adventurers left, Princess Esna turned to Isaac and playfully chucked him in his ribs. \"Don't tell you didn't find that fun.\"\n\n\"I didn't, and I've got a bruise to prove it.\"\n\n\"How many has it been, 40, 50 adventurers?\" Esna asked.\n\n\"I don't know, I've lost count.\" Isaac replied with a frown.\n\n\"Oh look, there's another band of adventurers, get ready Isaac, it would soon be time to play the kidnapper again.\" Esna laughed, running towards the group of men and women camping just some feet away.\n\n\"Esna, don't.\"\n\n\"Catch me if you can.\"\n\n\"I hate it when you get like this.\" Isaac groaned, before following after her.",
"\"For the last time, Henry, I'm not under any duress!\" Princess Elisa snapped, \"I'm not being held against my will, alright?\"\n\n\"But fair maiden, surely thou would not consort with this base villain here, of thoust own free will?\" came the reply, Prince Henry the Dashing, dressed all in white, perched on his horse, a literal white knight.\n\nI opened my mouth to respond, then decided not to. There was no point. I only needed to prove myself to Elisa, and the Kingdom... HER Kingdom of Farwood. This was a vow I made, ever since Elisa and I were little, that I'd always be by her side, no matter how far into the friendzone it got me. I let out a sigh, watching Elisa get more animated. In these situations, she was my savior. None of these \"White Knights\" would ever listen to me.\n\nAnd why would they? People become Dark Knights due to their unique bloodline. Dark Knights wield immense powers, and eventually pledge allegiance to their clan. I was no different from the other Dark Knights... except that I had no clan. I had secretly pledged myself to serve the Kingdom, wielding my powers to protect my best friend. Since we were young, we've always wanted to go adventuring. This was merely us fulfilling our childhood dreams, and damned if I'd let Prince-Henry-the-Douchebag get in the way. Unable to help myself, I gripped my sword, opening my mouth, ready to retort, when I heard the sound of a hunting horn.\n\nHenry must have heard it too, because he quickly shut his mouth. Then... the sound of thundering hooves. His face pale, he quickly shot a retort back to the Princess. \"Thou art not worth the effort,\" his voice betraying his knowledge of what the horn signified, \"I shalt not putteth mine own life at risketh for a ingrate!\" And with that, he spurred his horse on, galloping away from us.\n\n\"Quickly! The rope and the hood...\" Elisa beckoned to me. We did this so often, it became our routine. I placed the hood over Elisa's head, covering her face, preventing her from being recognized. Then, I slipped a length of rope around her wrists, binding her with a quick release knot, just in case. It took us a few seconds longer than usual, but we were ready when the other Dark Knights arrived on their horses.\n\n\"A successful kidnapping and a fine captive, Kaleb!\" their leader complimented me, \"this one would be held for a good amount of ransom!\"\n\n\"Why thank you, Sir Jasper of Clan Redwitch,\" I replied, doing my Dark Knight ritual bow, \"I am leading her to my lair now. Not too far away.\"\n\nJasper scratched his beard. \"Well, you don't seem like you need any help with that, do you?\"\n\nI grinned. \"Nay, Sir Jasper, I can handle the girl myself. But, there was something you could do for me... I was harassed by a white knight. He went that way.\" Pointing into the distance, I could still see Henry riding for his life.\n\n\"Then, the hunt is on!\" Jasper roared, laughing heartily as his clansmen cheered. And then, they were off, heading in the direction of Prince-Henry-the-Dashing-away.\n\nI kept my hand on Elisa's shoulder until the sound of hooves faded, and Elisa slipped out of the rope and the hood by herself. \"Phew, that was close. Why don't we explore the forest today before going back to the castle?\"",
"\"Good Lady, has this foul being that calls himself a knight absconded with you in tow?\" The man in a half helm asked, sword raised.\n\n\"Oh, my lord! He has! Please, rescue me from his evil grasp!\" The princess cried atop her horse, making the dark knight sigh in irritation.\n\n\"Boomika, what are you playing at?\" The dark knight asked, his voice muffled under the black helmet he wore. It was a swelteringly hot day, and this unnecessary stop they made was only being prolonged by the princess and her games.\n\n\"Please, sir knight! You have to rescue me. I fear for my life.\" The princess continued.\n\n\"Fear not, good lady. I'll make short work of this fool.\" The man shouted chivalrously as he started forward. \n\nHe was the real fool. Attacking an armoured man on horseback while he was on foot. The dark knight pivoted his horse and kicked the approaching man deftly in the face, and shook his head as the man fell over.\n\n\"Stay down, you idiot. She is the Princess Boomika Meztli of Isarthorpe. She's the princess of this goddamn kingdom. And I'm her anointed knight.\"\n\n\"Liar. A dark knight wouldn't be put in such a high position.\" The fallen man groaned to his feet, his mouth bloody.\n\n\"Shit, I think you broke his teeth.\" The princess' voice was suddenly less shrill, more concerned.\n\n\"And his nose. Pay the man for his chivalry and let's move.\" The dark knight muttered, turning his horse around away from the sun.\n\n\"I'm so sorry, ah knight person. I am indeed Princess Boomika. We were just fooling around. I did not expect there to be blood.\" He heard the princess saying.\n\nThey continued down the road, the princess a lot quieter than before.\n\n\"You didn't have to draw blood.\"\n\n\"Don't start with me, Boo.\"\n\n\"I was just playing. Now I have blood on my hands.\"\n\n\"He'll be fine.\"\n\n\"Gods what must he think of me. A cruel wench, for sure.\"\n\n\"You seriously worry what a drunken clown with a sword thinks of you?\"\n\n\"He's not a clown. He's a knight.\"\n\n\"A hedge knight, at best.\"\n\n\"Still a tier above you.\"\n\n\"You wound me.\" The knight said sarcastically.\n\n\"Bleed, then.\" The woman replied.\n\nThey were coming up on the roadside inn, now. A welcome reprise for the knight, who was drenched in sweat and was more tired than he would ever let anyone know.\n\n\"How are you feeling?\" She asked as they dismounted. He had stumbled as he got off, but played it as a natural movement. But they knew each other long enough that she saw through it right away.\n\n\"I'm fine, Boo.\" He lied, leading the woman into the inn, his vision blurry. But as soon as they went in, he fell, clashing loudly and painfully against the ground before unconsciousness befell him.\n\n\nWhen he awoke he was stripped to his inner wear. Boo was seated on a chair on his side. He tried to call to her, but realised she was asleep. He shifted, and winced. His whole body was on fire.\n\n\"You didn't tell her, did you?\" A voice asked on the other side of the bed he was lying in. He turned his head. An older man stood, holding a staff. He stared at the dark knight with a sort of recognition he could not quite place.\n\n\"Tell her what?\"\n\n\"Your affliction. Or at least, the extent of it.\"\n\n\"I don't know it myself.\"\n\n\"Ah. \"\n\n\"Who are you?\"\n\n\"Forgive me. My name is Mera. I'm a healer of sorts. But I am sadly not equipped to deal with your disease. I'm part of an adventuring party. We were tailing you, thinking you kidnapped her.\" He said, speaking in a quiet voice so as to not wake Boomika, who was snoring softly.\n\n\"What... What is my affliction?\"\n\n\"Ludcurse.\"\n\n\"What?\"\n\n\"Not much is known about it. All I can say is you will feel weaker and weaker by the day. Until one day, you will simply not be able to wake.\"\n\n\"Where can I find a cure?\" The knight asked, trying to rise.\n\n\"Back in your castle. The healers there would be better equipped, anyway. Why are you travelling in this condition, with her no less?\"\n\n\"To find out what is ailing me.\"\n\n\"The princess came with you on this endeavour?\"\n\n\"She insisted.\"\n\n\"She cares for you.\"\n\n\"We're friends from childhood. We confide in each other. It was a mistake to tell her of my health. I should have ridden off by myself.\"\n\n\"And died promptly. There is no place for a dark knight in these times. You're lucky she vouched for you. Does the king know?\"\n\n\"He knows she's travelling out of the city, but not the reason. I'm her anointed knight, so naturally I accompany her.\"\n\nThe man regarded him for a moment, and then nodded.\n\n\"Rest well, dark knight. My curiosity is sated. We shall accompany you back to the castle on the morrow.\"\n\n\"No, wait.\" The dark knight muttered, realising he had probably given the man information the princess obviously had nkt. Curse his tired mind.\n\n\"We can't go back. They won't treat me. They're looking for an excuse to get rid of me.\" He said, loud enough to wake the sleeping princess, who snorted awake.\n\n\"What's happening? Mera? Shit! Are you alright? Why didn't you tell me!?\"\n\nShe shouted at the man lying on the bed.\n\n\"I didn't know, Boo.\" He muttered.\n\n\"Mera. Can you do anything? I can pay you more than—\" She ignored the dark knight completely, looking back to Mera\n\n\"I'm sorry, princess. This is beyond me.\"\n\n\"There must be something...\"\n\n\"I'll try to convince Unariel. She is tied to the fey. Maybe there is fey magic that can help. I should warn you. Even if she does help, fey magic is unpredictable.\"\n\n\"Please.\"\n\nThe man left the room, leaving the two alone.\n\n\"I was messing around playing games while you were dying. There's no place in the seven hells for me.\"\n\n\"Oh, shut up. You're always so dramatic.\"\n\n\"And you're the opposite. If you just told me how serious this was we could have ridden off sooner.\"\n\n\"Your duties is to the kingdom, not to me.\"\n\n\"To the hells with the kingdom. You're my only friend. I can't lose you.\"\n\n\"That's depressing.\" He remarked, and the woman slapped him hard across his chest, which sent waves of pain across his body.\n\n\"I'm sorry!\" She gasped, retracting her hand in horror.\n\n\"I don't know if I trust your new friends. What time is it? We need to leave once they're asleep.\"\n\n\"Oh, shush. They're an adventuring party. Apparently of some reknown. They're sure to help a princess in need.\"\n\n\"Or hold her hostage when her protector is at his weakest.\"\n\n\"How do you live every day, so pessimistic. Seeing the worst in people?\"\n\n\"They see the worst in me, just because of the colour of my armour.\" He retorted, almost shouting. He had not meant to. But he would not apologize either.\n\n\"I'm sorry. But we *are* travelling with them. We'll see what this fey magic can do for you. And if that doesn't work, we'll travel to the next kingdom over. We'll keep searching for a healer who will treat you. I don't care how long it takes.\"\n\n\"Boo, death doesn't scare me.\"\n\n\"Fuck you, then. Sorry, my dark knight. I am but a spoiled princess, and telling me I can't have you only makes me want to make sure I do.\""
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[WP] First contact is initiated but the ambassadors are extremely hostile. When asked why they ask us “What have you people done to the Atlantians?”
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"What did you do with the Atlantians?\" Grogdor asked, pointing his long finger at them. \n\nAmbassador Yi looked to his fellow Earth ambassadors. They shrugged and shook their heads. Yi looked back at the tall humanoid creature, \"Atlantians? Who are they?\"\n\n\"Don't play games with me, human. What did you do to them? The rightful rulers of this water world.\"\n\n\"Are you referring to Atlantis? Like the Lost City of Atlantis. The myth.\" Ambassador Stevenson said from the group.\n\n\"Myth? It is no myth. I visited the great city of Atlantis the last time I was here.\"\n\nThe ambassadors broke out in quiet conversation amongst each other. Grogdor watched their reactions to his revelation. They genuinely did not know about Atlantians.\n\n\"What year was it here?\"\n\n\"2022.\" Yi answered.\n\nGrogdor sat down and put his hand on his oval head. It had been so long they stopped using the Atlantian method. His skin turned from grey to a bright blue and became clammy.\n\n\"Did they pass down any knowledge to you? Anything?\"\n\n\"I can have a historian check. I imagine whatever was passed down was not of much significance.\" Yi said.\n\n\"No treaties? Technology blueprints?\"\n\n\"Oh no, nothing like that. Just stories.\" Stevenson said.\n\nGrogdor paced back and forth in the room.\n\n\"Were there treaties signed? We would be willing to honor them, depending on what they say?\" Yi offered.\n\n\"There were treaties. Thousand of them. For each of the different space faring civilizations. Now that the Atlantians are gone everything is void.\"\n\n\"What do you mean by everything?\"\n\n\"I mean everything. We are all completely screwed. Is that the proper term? Screwed?\"\n\n\"What happens when these treaties void?\"\n\n\"For most of the treaties it means very little. But there is one that is a big problem. The treaty with the Darfrens.\"\n\n\"Who are they?\" Yi asked.\n\n\"A small species, much like your raccoons, except far more intelligent and unforgiving. The Atlantians made a deal with them to research emerging technology in land/sea travel. Something small, fast, and could safely attach weapons on it. In exchange they wouldn't rape your planet for it's resources, or kill your people. Normal boilerplate stuff.\"\n\n\"We are researching new technology all the time. I'm sure we can uphold this treaty.\"\n\n\"No. Now that Atlantians are gone and you don't have the document, you have no standing. Since my species also vouched for the Atlantians, we will also suffer for this.\"\n\n\"Surely we can renegotiate with them?\"\n\n\"Sure. But who is going to co-sign? My people won't. Not after they hear about this. We were the only species that found them worthy of a shot. And your people have gone backwards in technology advancement. It is not a good look from an intergalactic perspective.\"\n\n\"But like you said, you will suffer for this too. Might as well help us get up to speed.\"\n\n\"You are thousands of years behind from where the Atlantians were. You only have a hundred years left to bring them something. I was expecting to see a final product and more prosperous land. Instead all I see is pollution, ugly cities, and you still struggle to leave your own atmosphere.\"\n\n\"We will make something. Even if we have to dedicate all our resources. Just give us a chance.\" Yi said. The rest of the ambassadors nodded in agreement.\n\nGrogdor looked into each one of their eyes. He could feel their collective will to succeed. Or maybe their desperation. \n\n\"Fine. I won't tell my people about this, but you better have something. Darfrens don't take kindly to being cheated.\"\n\n\"We promise. On behalf of all humans on Earth, we won't let you down.\"\n\n\"Good.\"\n\nGrogdor tapped the inside of his wrist and disappeared in an instant. In the time it took him to blink he was back on his spaceship, surrounded by his crew.\n\n\"How did it go?\" Everelli said. \n\nGrogdor looked back at her without saying anything. The silence of the ship stayed just long enough for Grogdor to break a smile. She smiled back. The rest of the crew roared with laughter.\n\n\"They bought it. So gullible those humans.\" Grogdor said.\n\n\"Even the Darfrens bit?\" \n\n\"Didn't question it once. I can't believe they think there is a species of smart racoons.\"\n\n\"So what did you get them to do?\"\n\n\"I don't even remember.\"\n\nEveryone let out another roar of laughter and their ship sped off into the vast cosmos like a comet in the sky to mess with another unsuspecting civilization."
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[WP] You’re an antiquities conservator for the Louvre Museum. As you remove each piece for inspection, one thing becomes terribly clear. They’re all forgeries.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"My parents were Haitian. I spoke French, but inefficiently. My parents died when I was young. I had lived in America, but there—in America—there was nothing for me.\n\n\nIn Paris there was a grandmother. Her name was Esmée. I went across the Atlantic to live with her where I was raised from the age of fifteen. \n\n\nEsmée, my grandmother, had taught me many things, but of all the things that she had taught me, she had taught me the value of value, which I remembered most of all.\n\n\nWhen I was old enough to work, my grandmother Esmée got me a job at the Pompidou Centre. Later on, years later, after achieving something of a reputation, I was able to intern at the Louvre. After a few more years I was elevated to a very prestigious position as an antiques conservateur. An antiques conservateur is very prestigious because you have access to very important works of art, and when I told my grandmother she was very proud.\n\n\n\"You did very well,\" she said to me that night.\n\n\nAfter she told me that we ate dinner in celebration, then I went to my bedroom and fell asleep.\n\n\n \n\n\nSeveral years later at work, in the Louvre, I was removing each piece of art for inspection, one by one, when something became terribly clear — they were all forgeries.\n\n\nI went into my supervisors office and I told him what had happened.\n\n\n\"Everything?\" he said in French.\n\n\n\"Everything,\" I said.\n\n\nHe stared at me for a moment, and then, very casually, waved me away. When I returned to my grandmother's apartment that night, there were men waiting me. They sat down with me and my grandmother, asked me some questions, and, after feeling satisfied, left.\n\n\nThat night I took a very long shower and I thought about the forgeries. And then, after thinking about the forgeries, I thought about the Louvre, and then I thought about the art, and then I began to think about the value of all that missing art. People come to museums not because they know that what is inside is good, but because they're told what is inside is good. They need to be told what is good, because, otherwise, they would not know what is the good. But they don't know what is good. They don't know at all. You could print a picture of a dirty toilet on a canvas, and people would assume, if it is in a museum, that it is the work of a genius.\n\t\n\nBut what do I know; do I know value? Sometimes I think I do. But, truly, I do not know anything. But not knowing anything is the first step towards confidence. Knowing that you don't know anything. If you know that, then you're already one step towards understanding how ridiculous the world is. \nThose people who walk in the Louvre, they're minds are filled ridiculous truths and slogans. What do they know? They don't know anything. And how alarmed would they would be if they know the truth! I was glad that all that art was gone. Now they would have to discover the truth for themselves.\n\n\n \n\n\nWhen I woke up the next morning I had been fired from my job. Some of the men from the previous night had come to see me and my grandmother once again, but it came to nothing. They were the French version of the FBI, but they were much less intimidating—it's difficult to be intimidating with such funny accents.\n\n\n I didn't do anything for months. One day as I came out of my bedroom, my grandmother said everything was fine. She had talked to my supervisor, and she had said everything was done. I went back into my room that night, did nothing and feel asleep.\n\t\n\nWhen I woke up the following day I opened my computer and checked my bank account, which now suddenly had beaucoup zeros. I closed my laptop and laid on my bed and stared at the ceiling, relieved. I thought I might feel bad about what I did, but I didn't. In the end, I think it's better that I have all that money, and they don't. It takes a man of taste to really know the value of a billion dollars.",
"To me, the world is always bright.\n\nThe doctors are not entirely sure what freakish insect gene was turned on within me. Either way, my eyes not only have five times the density of optical cells, but five extra types, previously unknown to science. As a result, I can see well into infrared and ultraviolet, as well as some radio waves and X-rays, on a good day.\n\nI could be suspended in the deepest, darkest cave (or an basement, as the case may be), and be able to navigate in pitch-black.\n\nPair that with the fact that I've always been observant (how could I not?), often to the point of pointing out things that got me in trouble, and what did you get?\n\nAs it turned out, an art historian, after too many trips to a museum or two, or three.\n\nNow, a master's degree, three years of experience, and several background checks later, I was standing in the quintessential collection of the modern world.\n\nThe main restoration room of the Louvre is not a sterile, surgical place, like some people would suppose. Of course, it had its fair share of climate controlled rooms and specialized equipment. But on the whole, you really did get that 'old Parisian' feel to the gilded white halls with the large windows and circular columns. Actually, it felt nearly downright Greek.\n\nThe tables were long, elegant things, preserved for decades of painting and scratching and washing and, every once in a while, a glass of Chardonnay. When there was no work on the chopping block, as it were.\n\nMy assignments had started off strong, with Rembrant's *De aartsengel verlaat Tobias en zijn gezin.* My tools glinted under the overhead lights, white and bright. I took a deep inhale of the filtered, perfectly chilly air.\n\nBefore I begun, I saw something flicker in the corner.\n\nIf I had to describe it to you, I'd say it's like... made up of a buzzing cloud of neon. \n\nEither way, it wasn't meant for normal eyes to see, evidently, so I shifted spectrums.\n\nThe thing is, electro-magnetic waves of variation wave-length don't always pass through the virtuous humor in your eye correctly, even if you do have the sensors. To accomidate that, I basically have to queeze my eyes real hard to change the shape of the humour and the lens.\n\nWhen I did that, I could see.\n\nAnd I saw a name.\n\n\"John Smith.\"\n\nI rubbed my eyes.\n\nI looked again, the name was still the same.\n\nI glance to the next one in my pile.\n\nNot Veronesse.\n\n\"Karen\".\n\nWhat?\n\nThe most famous painting in the world hangs in a temperature controlled unit. \n\n*Mona Lisa's* 'Leonardo Davinci' was replaced by a monstrous \"IWUSHERE.\"\n\nI did what I could, but only after 20 minutes and constant looks at the names, I was tuckered out.\n\nI choose to talk a walk in my coffee break, through halls of centauries of human history and culture.\n\nIn the main foyer there is the *Winged Victory of Samothrace,* one of the most famous and exceptionally sculptures ever made. The details on its tunic and wings are impeccable, despite the lack of any upper appendages.\n\nOne of my co-workers came up to greet me, asking me just how my first day was.\n\n\"The depends,\" I say, staring at the statue, \"since when was the Winged Victory of Samothrace supposed to have a head?\"\n\n​\n\n*I write all sorts of things, silly and serious, at* r/The_Alloqium*.*"
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[WP] You and the rest of your superhero friends are incognito at a wedding. Whilst posing for photos, a supervillain attacks! Before you and your friends react, the photographer rips off his clothes to reveal that they too are a superhero, and announces that this will be their debut fight.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
" The first time I ended up on the other end of the camera was at my own sister’s wedding, in a town just outside her city, and a few hours from the other city that I call home.\n\nYes, weddings are meant to be special occasions. Yes, they can get a little rowdy, and after a little booze even the stodgiest of us can end up trying on some new proverbial hats.\n\nBut this. This day was out of the ordinary, even for me, Emily. A veteran of at least 10 family weddings in the before times.\n\nWe had somehow got most of the way through this strange pandemic-reduced outdoor ceremony. I was sat in the second row of white folding chairs, with my sister Andrea maybe 10 feet ahead of me standing under one of those cheap plastic trellises that this motel-cum-hotel tries to pass off as fancy for the two months a year, here in Canada, that the place is ever booked solid thanks to Summer weather combined with its location by the river.\n\nAndrea had picked out a jade green dress for the ceremony and all I can say is, thank god.\n\nThe first sign something was wrong arose just as the couple finished their vows, but before the rings could swap fingers. To keep numbers in check, they’d foregone a ringbearer.\n\nNormally, I’d have noticed the disruption much sooner. Keeping one eye on the periphery is a hard to lose habit for a superhero. But it was my sister’s wedding, and for those five minutes I finally had eyes only for the couple in front of me.\n\nUntil my ears intervened at the sound of rapid steps to my left: The sound of heels squishing angrily into the still-damp grass.\n\nUntil, a few seconds later, a tuxedoed, masked waiter-cum-usher who was trying to hold down every other role in this joint all at once, multitasked to the limit by the pandemic layoffs at the motel, also tried to act as a bouncer.\n\nAnd failed miserably.\n\nThe waiter appeared to my left, at the edge of the green lawn, stumble-running loudly and flailing a mask, gesturing at - who was that - someone in a jade green *trench*? Someone not only crashing my sister’s wedding, not only boosting us over the maximum authorized gathering limits - but stealing her style. The trench was more than just green: It blended with the grass to perfection. This had to be active camouflage.\n\nAnd, most important: The wedding crasher was not wearing a mask.\n\n“I OBJECT!” she screamed. Spittle flew through the air. Everyone seated at least 6 feet away from me, within the splash zone, visibly cringed. A few reflexively touched their masked faces to wipe it off, then began to freak out about having touched their masks, and then - well, before anyone could decide what to do after that, then chaos broke out.\n\nAt that stage of the ceremony, the photographer had been positioned behind the happy couple, snapping views of the miniature masked crowd, all 20 of us taking up as much space as 200 might have in the before times. She had been in the perfect spot and looking at the perfect angle to capture the approach of the conscientious mask objector. And clearly, she had not wasted that opportunity.\n\nBefore I knew what was happening, at least two things happened: The photographer had somehow shed the first layer of her clothes, snakelike, and was now clad in what looked like ruby-red latex. Either that was some damn fine underwear, or there was more going on here than met the eye. And next, they handed my sister the camera, for safekeeping.\n\nAt this, my sister was nonplussed. I may not have mentioned, but as you might perhaps expect of someone who decides to go ahead with a pandemic wedding, with all the attendant stresses, the extra work, the planning, Andrea is...a certain type of bride...and was a little *upset* that the thin veneer on her not-so-perfect day was quickly cracking to pieces.\n\nShe saw me stand up in those first 10 seconds. Andrea knows everything about me; we are closer than I am with any friends except perhaps my fellow heroes, after all, and after all there are *some* things you just can’t confide in the people you work with. For all *those* things, Andrea was my person. She was before the pandemic, and she will be after.\n\nAndrea also, apparently, was determined that I *not* take the lead in dealing with this intruder. How could I tell? Within a few seconds of the photographer transforming into a dominatrix and handing Andrea the camera, that camera was in *my* hands and Andrea was somehow screaming at two people at once, all through her mask.\n\nAt the intruder: “YOU ASKED FOR IT, SHEILA!”\n\nAt me: “YOU BETTER GET THIS, SIS!” In those 5 words, all implied, but unspoken: You didn’t have to lift a finger and plan a bachelorette. You didn’t have to cook and tolerate family we never see so I could have a damn shower. The least you can do is stay out of this and record it for posterity.\n\nAll of that commotion was...maybe an hour or two ago, now? The henckeltrocken-cum-champagne is making some things a little fuzzy.\n\nI haven’t looked at the photos that I frantically snapped yet. Frankly, I don’t really know how that fancy camera works.\n\nBut I do *basically* remember what happened.\n\nAnd upon reflection? The whole thing looked a little...staged.\n\nAndrea flung her stilettos off, kicking them at the intruder (who is Sheila, anyway?), who dodged to the right and knocked over an empty folding chair, violating at least one person’s 6 foot zone. \n\nThe photographer promptly picked up said chair and took on a WWE persona, ready to smash it over Sheila’s head. Andrea cheered the photographer on from up by the cheap trellis. The chair shattered into about 5 pieces and Sheila crumpled into a heap.\n\nOur fearless waiter reappeared and, seeing Sheila’s state of disrepair, gave a tentative poke to her legs. Seeing no reaction, he grabbed her ankles and dragged her off, stage left.\n\nBut instead of being upset at all this distraction and damage? Andrea leapt forward, barefoot, grabbed the largest chunk of chair and turned it over to reveal - the rings, in a sealed pouch that had been securely velcroed to the bottom of the chair’s seat.\n\nAt that point, everyone who hadn’t run away burst into applause, which meant that about 5 of us were distantly clapping. Which is why, of course, I had to drink so much champagne, or whatever this stuff is.\n\nDo you know how many times 5 goes into 20? At least 4.\n\nAh, there the bride is now. Dressed for distant dancing!\n\nI mean, I knew we had been recruiting in her city. With the pandemic, there are so many new problems to deal with, and not nearly enough of us to go around. But really, couldn’t someone else have warned me they were considering a relative’s application? And did she have to bring her clearly-new-to-this sidekick along with her?\n\nI have a feeling we’ll have a thing or two to tell me next time we have a super-sister Zoom call.",
"I sat there watching, but something felt was off, you could clearly see the figure was casting not one but two shadows. As I watched the photographer land a punch I blinked. then, when my eyes opened the wedding still continued, we were now about a minute before the fight, I couldn't understand, had it just been a dream? Before I could had time to react I noticed the villain standing in the corner, now much more hidden then before. I rubbed my eyes, but they were still there. Had they adapted? I asked myself confused as I had never seen something like this before.\n\nAs the wedding ended I noticed the villain had moved, but, before I had time to react the villain shot of a nearby stand and stabbed the photographer in pure daylight. Before I reacted however, everything had returned to normal. I sat there expecting a preventable repeat but when the photographer was done, nothing happened. The wedding was over the partying had begun. I was about to leave when I saw the figure once again, however, they were approaching me.\n\nI of course turned looking as they gripped a knife in their hand. Unexpectedly however, they dropped the knife, spikes of stone ran up the wall suddenly forcing the glass above to shatter, raining tiny pieces of glass. Everyone ran, but the bride didn't make it as they were torn to pieces by the glass. Then time once again seemed to undergo a form of reversal. This time I saw the man outside, I of course walked towards them. However, when I arrived I no-longer saw the villain. all I saw was a crying child. The walls around them were covered in blood with a single visible word 'Mirror'. Then time once again reset bringing me back to the 'party' room.\n\nI got out a small mirror as now I saw the villain. This time however, he spoke. \"Do you really think you can hide\" the man said smiling. Everyone looked on confused but they spoke again, \"Now, Listen\" fragments of crystalized air flew away from them \"I have no intentions of ending this coil\". I secretly held out the mirror towards them. However, it did nothing. \"So in silence I see\" everyone around except me, my friends and the photographer began to seemingly float. \"I have no intentions of harming you, but if silence is your answer I will\", each person floating was then forced to the ground at a painful but luckily non-fatal velocity. The piano suddenly flung itself into the wall breaking it, and it seemed like i'd have to intervein. By now most of my friends had tried and failed to use their abilities, Fire, Water, Telekenesis and many other abilities didn't seem to faze the villain. \"So power is inside of you?\" the villain said surrounded by an orb of water which sudden froze and shatter, sending crystalized ice shards everywhere. \"Is it time for me to step in\" I said before beginning to float at the same level as the villain. I used my power to force a spike of concrete towards the villain. To which he did the same, which is when it dawned on me. 'Mirror' didn't mean reflect it was a warning that they would copy. \"Take this then\" Spikes of metal, concrete flew the the figure, fire was forced up and down by my friends, water was evaporated and forced into the villains face. They couldn't keep up however and were impaled through the chest. \"So, I see\" the villain said smiling as everyone stopped firing tired of the amount of energy they had used.\n\nSuddenly the figure motioned as the room began to feel cold. The villain was engulfed in shadows as 2 different people split apart. One dropping to the floor the other who was completely unharmed continuing to float. \"LISTEN\" the floating figure screamed as the glass above began to shatter. The room went silent as people rushed over to tend to the second man. \"Every time, I reseted time, It was to truly save a life, or to prevent harm.\" the mans eyes twisted like tunnels as he spoke in a much more darker and British tone. by now people were tending to the person on the ground, who was covered in cuts and bruises. \"He is the one who tried to kill you all, I undid everything and this is how you repay me\" the figure said staring in completely madness. \"I must go now, but I will return soon.\" the figure disappeared into the shadows, many people questions what had happened, but few remember the fight, the man must have erased memories or people were surpressing them. I still do not believe the second mans words, but the first man mysteriously vanished. I highly doubt the story is over, but atleast everything is calm for now.\n\n​\n\n***(Thank you for reading, hope you enjoy!)***",
" \\[Unflinching Stone\\] \n\"Congratulations, Greg,\" Gale Stone approached the [wedding planner](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/m4xa2d/wp_youre_the_new_superhero_in_town_but_now_your/) with two glasses of champagne. She offered him one, then began sipping her own. \"Cadence is absolutely thrilled with how everything turned out. Thanks to you, she's enjoying the wedding of her dreams.\"\n\nGreg took a small sip from the glass and allowed himself to relax. Gale was the most powerful supervillain in the world, but on that day she was a satisfied client. Greg couldn't help but chuckle at the situation. His laugh caught Gale's attention.\n\n\"What is it?\" she asked. Greg shook his head but continued to smile.\n\n\"It's kind of ridiculous. Your daughter's marrying one of the hottest [new heroes](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/kucsjq/wp_everyone_even_the_villains_they_regularly_face/) in the league,\" Greg gestured at the gathered guests with his glass. \"The most elite heroes in the league are here in your backyard... and almost none of them know [who you are](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/i3f46r/wp_you_are_a_supervillain_in_disguise_out/),\" he said between chuckles.\n\n\"Well, it's not my day, it's hers,\" Gale nodded at her daughter dressed in all white posing for a picture with her new husband. Gale watched them and noticed her daughter and everyone in the immediate area looked up. The sky was darkening fast.\n\n\"Look at all the heroes!\" A sinister voice came from the sky. Gale looked up and spotted a lean, frail, masked figure floating in the air while a swarm of insects buzzed around him.\n\n\"*NightSwarm*,\" Gale mumbled under her breath as she formulated a plan to get rid of him with as little disruption to the wedding as possible.\n\n\"I'll stop him!\" the photographer announced. He set his camera bag down, then tore off his suit to reveal a dark blue jumpsuit underneath. \"Call me Lens Flare!\" Lens Flare leaped up toward NightSwarm; but, he didn't make it very far. A serpentine vine shot out of the ground and wrapped itself around his ankle before pulling him back down to the Earth. \n\nA second vine shot upward and wrapped itself around NightSwarm. It slammed him down to the ground while a rainbow flock of birds flew through and feasted on the insect swarm. After softening up the villain against the ground a few times, the vine lifted up the body and pulled it down into the Earth without a trace.\n\n\"Get your photographer back on track,\" Gale told Greg. \"Nothing is ruining [my little girl's](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/djpu21/wp_you_are_the_greatest_supervillain_the_world/) wedding.\"\n\n \n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\nThank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1191 in a row. (Story #095 in year four.) You can find all my stories collected on my subreddit ([r/hugoverse](https://www.reddit.com/r/hugoverse/)) or my blog.",
"\\[poem\\]\n\nToday was the day that bright colours became white and night,\n\nNo masks or fake identities our faces were finally in the light,\n\nIt was a break from the supernatural chases and fights, \nA once in a blue moon event after we reached such heights,\n\nNight Might and Spark Fly strode down the aisle,\n\nToday they were Jaxon and Stacey the first time I saw them smile,\n\nWith a single kiss they were now together,\n\nA lovely couple and even better weather,\n\n\"Say cheese\" he shouted as the camera clicked,\n\n\"Once more friends!\" his eyes like an addict,\n\nWe stood side by side and we posed,\n\nUntil the window cracked as he rode,\n\nA motorcycle that grinned like the devil,\n\nNot an ordinary threat it was quite high level,\n\nWe dispersed, \n\nBut the photographer was well versed,\n\nHis eyes rolled back to reveal white,\n\nBright red shook the room it was a sight,\n\nFinally silence it was back to night,\n\nWe had just seen Crack Eye and his debut fight.",
"Arlo wrapped his arms around Juniper and me as we smiled for the camera.\n\n\"Get ready,\" he whispered.\n\nOver the years I had grown to trust Arlo's warnings. His ability to sense what would happen ten seconds into the future came in handy in nearly every fight, and gave us a huge upper hand in most situations. He was our secret weapon and our most guarded ally.\n\nBut we were trapped. Not just by the camera that would capture anything we did, but by our friends all around. Only a handful knew our secret identities, and we knew theirs too.\n\nDust and debris spilled onto the dance floor. The music and dancing came to a sudden stop. The three of us in front of the photographer dropped our smiles. A few nervous screams came from the guests as they shuffled away from the newly formed hole in the wall. Out of it stepped a man wearing a black and purple jumpsuit, with hair that stood up like a jet of black fire. It was Midnight Man, my arch nemesis.\n\n\"Sorry to crash the party,\" said the unwelcome visitor, \"but I need to borrow the groom for while.\" He cackled, \"And surely there's nobody here who will stop me!\"\n\nI felt a pulse of frustration and anger growing from my chest. This was supposed to be a day off! I scanned the crowd for the bride and groom, and found them just a few steps away. I could get them now, but...If only I could just escape to a secluded corner I could change without unveiling my identity...\n\nTugging at my tuxedo shirt, I stepped towards a back door for the bathrooms. But before I got more than two steps, I felt a tugging on my shoulder.\n\n\"James, wait.\" It was Arlo. He gave me a warning glare then directed my gaze in front of me. \"Watch the photographer!\"\n\nI had been worried about Midnight Man, the guests nearest him, and the bride and groom. I had been worried about my own decision. The photographer hadn't crossed my mind.\n\n\"Not so fast!\" he shouted at Midnight man. As he stood, his clothes burned off into a light ash which fell softly to the floor, revealing a skin-tight red and yellow outfit. He pressed a button on his camera and it unfolded into a long staff with a bright bulb on the tip.\n\n\"And who might you be?\" Midnight Man chided. \"A wanna be superhero?\"\n\n\"You may not know me yet, but I'm the Flash, and I won't let you hurt my friend!\"\n\n\"Rookie mistake,\" Juniper whispered. \"A public reveal. He won't get an ounce of privacy.\"\n\n\"And with his name too,\" I chuckled. \"He'll get a letter from some angry lawyers pretty soon.\"\n\n\"Let's just see what he can do,\" Arlo suggested.\n\n\"So, you're the superhero friend I've heard would be here,\" Midnight Man said, taking slow steps toward the middle of the dance floor. \"Pity. I was hoping it would be someone more significant.\"\n\nThe Flash approached Midnight Man, putting himself between the groom and the villain. He pointed his staff. \"Take another step closer and you'll be sorry.\"\n\nMidnight Man snapped his fingers and the whole room went dark. Every ounce of light had vanished.\n\n\"That wasn't very smart,\" Arlo said.\n\n\"What can you hear, Juniper?\" I asked.\n\n\"Nothing yet, they're still standing... wait. Flash is moving.\"\n\nDespite the total darkness, we were suddenly enveloped by a blinding light. We could see again, though our eyes took a moment to adjust.\n\n\"Wow,\" Arlo said.\n\n\"What is it?\" I asked.\n\n\"You'll see.\"\n\nI blinked my eyes and focused on the dance floor, but Midnight Man was missing. I quickly looked for the groom, but he was still there, his new wife bravely standing in front of him. However, I saw the Flash walk over and pick something up off the ground. It was a photograph.\n\n\"Looks like I've *captured* Midnight Man's best qualities!\"\n\nThe crowd gasped. I winced. Juniper sighed.\n\n\"He needs to work on his pun game,\" said Arlo.\n\nAfter a few minutes of cleaning up, the party resumed. Everyone crowded around The Flash and gawked at his photograph of Midnight Man, now stuck in the photograph. It was an incredible power, and certainly one that we would need to carefully watch. But I couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that without his appearance, Midnight Man would have gotten what he came for. No, not the groom, but the outing of one of our secret identities.\n\nI glanced over at the groom, who happened to catch my eye. I couldn't tell for sure, but he almost looked disappointed. Perhaps it was because the focus of the party had shifted to The Flash, but perhaps it was from something more sinister."
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[WP] You wake up to a cup of yoghurt on top of your bedside drawer. Thinking nothing of it, you eat it. This repeats every morning until one day, for some reason or another, you decide to throw it away. As you do so, you hear a dejected voice from outside your window go "Aww..."
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Who is this?!\", I ask. I'm just standing still, paralyzed from fear. I knew eating randomly appearing yoghurt goes against any common sense. I just like yoghurt, however and just assumed that my wife placed it there for me each morning before going to work. On top of that, to show my appreciation to my wife, I in return didn't mention the yoghurt to her. Rather I would place sweets in her brief case as a thanks.\n\n\"I am the yoghurt fairy.\"\n\n\"Really?\"\n\n\"No, you idiot. I've literally been stalking you for a year now.\"\n\n\"Why?\"\n\n\"Just because. I'm crazy and bored.\"\n\nThe whole weirdness of this situation is getting out of hand. I rush to the window where the voice is coming from and find an elf wearing green clothes and a purple fedora.\n\n\"You're an elf!\"\n\n\"No, you imbecile. I was born with dwarfism and I find your remark very offensive.\"\n\n\"Oh, I am sorry.\", i replied. This entire event so far has been so confusing and surreal that I am starting to question my sanity. Have I been drugged?\n\n\"I'm Jared, by the way. As long as you don't call me an elf anymore, we can be friends,\"\n\n\"Friends? I should call the police right now. You know what, that's what I'm gonna do.\" I take out my phone and start dialing 911.\n\n\"Yeah, go ahead. Tell the police that a dwarf in a green costume has been placing yoghurt on your drawer.\", he says. \"Don't tell them that you ate it without questioning where it came from. That would destroy your credibility.\", Jared adds sarcastically.\n\n\"You tiny bastard...\", I can't refute that. I hang up the phone.\n\n\"Did you just call me tiny? I told you, I am sensitive about my miniscule height.\"\n\n\"You know, for a bat-shit crazy stalker, you seem to be a fun guy. Alright, let's be friends.\", I say. My idea is that he might be dangerous as he is crazy. If I tell him that I am his friend, maybe I can get out of this situation safely somehow.\n\n\"No.\" Everything fades to black.\n\nI wake up not knowing how much time has passed. I am in bed. Oh, maybe it was all just a dream (epic foreshadowing,). No, there's yoghurt beside my bed. I walk to the window to see if Jared is there. There is a little figure standing in front of the window with its back turned to me. A small man wearing green clothes and a purple fedora.\n\n\"Jared! What just happened?\"\n\n\"Jared?\", he says as he turns around. Different face, huh. \"My name is Hugh. Why are you inside my house?\"\n\nI am completely lost. Is my mental state continuously deteriorating? I would call my wife and tell her about what's happening right now. I need confirmation that I am not becoming crazy. However, despite how much she trusts me, I fear even she would think I'm crazy. It's no use. Nobody will believe me. I don't even believe myself right now.\n\nJust as I give up any hope that I am a sane person, Jared comes around the corner.\n\n\"High five, Hugh! We got him! It was just a prank!\", says Jared.\n\n\"So I'm not actually crazy?\", I say.\n\n\"You are crazy. That is the prank.\"\n\nThey begin laughing. I laugh with them. I laugh, while I dial the number of the closest mental institute to check myself in. On the phone, I truthfully explain what just happened to me and to no surprise they take me in as a patient...\n\n​\n\n...\n\n​\n\n\"Hey Jared, don't you think it was a little harsh that I made the guy unconscious with cloroform so he wakes up in his bed?\"\n\n\"Hugh, you did the right thing. Our mental institution was nearly going bankrupt and with this harmless method of ours we've gained so many patients. We are making a fortune!\"\n\n\"Yeah, I guess.\"\n\n\"See, we are just like the government.\"\n\n\"Elaborate.\"\n\n\"No.\"\n\nThe end. Or is it?\n\n​\n\n​\n\n​\n\n​\n\n​\n\nNon't"
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[WP] "Uhm... Dear, did you grant unfathomable power to a human again? You know we can get a little crazy with that." He said to his wife. The red demon spat out the cup of lava she was drinking. "W-Well.. I might have... Why do you ask...?"
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"It was early in the morning, [the kids](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/k0ff6c/wp_you_live_in_a_world_where_humans_coexist_with/gdjc4h4/) were at school, and my first appointment for the day wasn't for another hour. Thankfully, since it was an online appointment, I didn't even have to worry about leaving the house. The smell of freshly brewed coffee hung in the air as I looked over the newspaper.\n\nThe headlines for the day weren't particularly interesting. An announcement of the upcoming parade for St. Luke's day, an editorial from some guy complaining that demons were ruining society for the fourth time this week... And a piece about an arson suspect being detained. Even just from the photos, I could see the telltale signs of demonic hellfire. There weren't that many pyroclastic demons in our part of town, so... Well, I had to ask.\n\n\"Honey,\" I said. The large female demon sitting across the table from me looked up from her stack of waffles and bacon. \"Have you been... 'Making deals', again?\"\n\n\"Mmmm...\" Claudia mumbled, her mouth full of food. She quickly washed it down with a gulp of coffee before giving a proper response. \"Okay, sweetie, I know you said not to, but he looked so desperate. Do you have any idea how much you can get for a soul in the underworld these days?\"\n\n\"Well, I hope it was worth it,\" I said, tossing the newspaper in front of her. As she looked at the page, she visibly shrunk back and took a small bite of a waffle. \"I'm not telling you to avoid these deals because I care deeply about jackasses getting themselves killed with their own hubris, it's just a bad deal in general. The Venn diagram of people willing to sell their soul for... Well, the power to commit violence on a mass scale, and people who will actually use that power responsibly are two completely separate circles.\"\n\n\"I know...\" my wife said, taking a nervous sip of her coffee. She called it an \"Octuple-roasted blend\", but it mostly just tasted like ash. \"It just feels... not good, having you footing all the bills while I look for a new job...\"\n\n\"Come on, hon, we're in this together, that's what we promised at the altar,\" I said. \"My private practice is plenty to cover the bills until you can find something. I mean, as much work as there is to do here at home, there's really no rush.\"\n\n\"You say that, but... Ooh, here's an idea...\" she said. \"There are a bunch of industry workers in town, what if I...\"\n\n\"They're not going to sell their souls to save on fuel,\" I said.\n\n\"Dammit...\" she said. She idly poked at the contents of her plate while clearly mulling over the possibilities.\n\n\"...Okay, if you're determined to stick with magic contracts, have you considered taking payments in cash?\" I asked. \"You might actually get decent clientele if you aren't targeting the exceptionally desperate.\"\n\n\"I'd have to reinvent my entire business model if I did that, it could take weeks to figure out appropriate rates and how to distribute the power... But I guess I've got nothing but time right now...\" she said, taking another bite of her breakfast. \"Aw, my waffles have gotten all soggy...\"\n\nI chuckled for a moment, then rolled an orange across the table to her. She cracked a smile and flicked a strip of bacon onto my plate before downing the rest of her coffee. Such was life, when we could actually find the time."
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[WP] You die suddenly and unexpectedly only to find towering knights hand you a sword. You’ve been drafted into the Legion of the Damned, a force that takes the greatest warriors in life and defend the afterlife against the hordes of Hell. Problem is, you were a tax accountant all your life
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"For my entire adult life, I had to listen to people complain about the unfairness of the tax code. I didn't write it; as a CPA, I didn't even enforce it. At first the complaining was simply annoying, but, as I started getting clients who were openly LGBTQ+ in the early 90s, I started to realize that a few of the complaints were onto something. So, I started stretching the rules a bit. Nothing major, and certainly nothing that was really obviously fraud, but sometimes I decided to address a few of the injustices I saw while I was at work. Little did I know that this lifetime of financial crusading was setting me up for an afterlife full of literal crusading.\n\nAs I slipped off into eternal slumber in a hospital room outside of Minneapolis, I didn't expect anything other than eternal peace and quiet. Instead, after my sould finally became aware of leaving the moral plain, I was greeted by a literal knight in shining armor. Leon the Holy stood about two feet taller than me, and, even restored to the strongest body I ever had in life, could have easily dislocated my shoulder in an arm wrestling contest. He shook my hand as I was still in the process of registering my continued existence, and he very literally shook me out my fog.\n\n\"Welcome to the Legion of the Damned.\" He boomed this in a voice that somehow made me aware of both the bushy beard and broad smile lurking under his steel faceplate. \"As some of the greatest warriors against the forces of Hell in our mortal lives, we are expected to continue our work against Lucifer's armies to protect those pure souls who have passed on to the great sanctuary of Heaven. What is your name and weapon, fellow soldier?\"\n\n\"P-Percy Williams?\" I stammered. That's my name, but I haven't fought with weapons before.\" \n\nLeon opened his faceplate and peered down at me, confused. \"Well, then how did you pursue your righteous crusade against the forces of evil?\"\n\n\"I don't know. I was an accountant.\"\n\nLeon produced a large scroll out of what appeared to be a small satchel, and began to unroll \"Well, it says here that you effectively defended others against... Your country's entire government. What sort of weapons did you use for that?\"\n\n\"Mostly Microsoft Office, if I'm understanding you correctly.\"\n\n\"Hmmm...\" Leon stroked his beard for a moment, then handed me a short dagger, a quill pen, and some parchment. \"These will have to do for now.\"\n\nThis began my slow introduction to the Legion of the Damned. My comrades ranged from Second World War French Resistance members to martyred nuns, but everyone there had a sort of physical fortitude that I lacked. I gained a certain knack for fighting off smaller imps that the larger Legionnaires found to be ankle-biting annoyances, but I had little opportunity to distinguish myself in those early days.\n\nMy big break came when we found ourselves pinned in a box canyon by a hydra and an army of undead corporate lawyers. As Yi the Bold gracefully dodged the hydra's heads and taunted them long enough for Leon and his companions to bash them into a pulp, I searched for a hole in the ironclad defenses of the lawyers. They were casting paperwork binding spells on our rear lines when I realized from their powdered wigs that all of them died before the passage of any civil rights laws. I quickly wrote out the text of several nondiscrimination clauses I could remember from my brief interest in corporate law while I was an undergraduate, and managed to ensnare them in enough red tape to give us a clean exit.\n\nThat day, I revealed my ability to turn satanic legalomancy on the very forces that made it, and gained the respect of most of the Legion, but my struggle against the forces of evil never ends."
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[WP] "What loop are we on?" "50." "Fifty only? Feels like it's been a hundred."
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"(Part 1/3)\n\n\n(Matt) “What loop are we on?”\n\n(Ricky) “50.”\n\n(Matt) “Only 50? Feels like the hundredth.”\n\nMatt walks down the hall to his room crunching on his breakfast bar. Ricky sighs, gets out of bed and follows him.\n\n(Ricky) “I feel like I should be the one feeling that way. This day was Hell on Earth at work and I have to keep living it. Do you have the notes?”\n\n(Matt) “A painstaking account of everyone’s daily routine on this day and their outfit of choice. You think it’d be easy to find someone out of the ordinary…”\n\n(Ricky) “Someone? Not something?”\n\n(Matt) “C’mon man, you’ve seen the movies. Stuff like this happens when people need to learn a lesson or something or have a big self discovery. Nothing we do has changed anything, so maybe there’s another person involved in this.”\n\n(Ricky) “So why the fuck are we stuck in *their* time loop?”\n\n(Matt) “I don’t know man, maybe their big discovery involves us.”\n\n(Ricky) “Maybe...we can worry about that later. You want the shower first?”\n\n(Matt) “Yeah you have a much better memory anyway so studying these notes will be more useful to you then to me.”\n\nHe took the finishing bite of his breakfast and handed the notes off to his roommate. Sure enough the day went exactly as it had the last 49 times. The sounds of the young newlyweds down the hall, Mr. Gujimai from two floors down hungover and overworked trying and failing to get his own lock to work, the same people, in the same outfits walking down the sidewalk. Matt and Ricky both sighed and went their separate ways to work...\n\nRickys day started out like it had the last 49 times. E-mails out the ass, and someone trying to pass a colored rock off as a rare artifact that the museum must have. Ricky wanted to scream...again. \n\n(Ricky) “50 times around the horn.”\n\nHe mumbled to himself as he watched security drag out the rock owner. Ricky turned to walk back to his office but something felt...different. The crowd of people gathered around exhibits seemed motionless, almost frozen in time. Ricky went to the bathroom and washed his face, thinking the endless loop had broken him. But when he returned to the museum floor, everyone was still frozen, except for on man who seemed particularly interested in the old west display. \n\n(Ricky) “S-s-“\n\nHe couldn’t even choke out three simple letters as he approached the man. The stranger was gently rocking back and forth.\n\n“You know I handled one of Colts prototypes way back in the day...which one are you Richard or Matthew?”\n\n(Ricky) “W-what?”\n\nThe stranger guffawed. \n\n“My apologies, it seems I got lost in my memories. Richard Holloway, 29 years old, 5’9”, 158lbs, blue eyes, black hair, museum curator, and currently stuck in a time loop...correct?”\n\nRicky stared open mouthed at the stranger. \n\n“I’ll take your stunned silence as a yes. Come on, we need to get your friend.”\n\n(Ricky) “How...how did you know all that? How are you moving? How am I moving? How are they...am I...”\n\n“Insane? No, ‘least I don’t think so but I’m no psychologist.”\n\n(Ricky) “So the Hell are you?”\n\n“I don’t have a name, havent in a long time, and if I told much more you wouldn’t believe me anyway. File says you’re an atheist, so.”\n\n(Ricky) “So you work for...or for?\n\n“Technically neither, I’m the guy the big man sends in when angels can’t get their jobs done. Surprisingly telling someone in a state of distress that you’re an angel and you’re there to help is like telling someone they can teach fish to dance.”\n\n(Ricky) “What if I said I don’t believe you?”\n\n“I’d call you a liar. I can see in your eyes that you believe me, because you didn’t believe you were really in a time loop either. You thought this was an elaborate prank and kept trying to convince yourself it wasn’t happening until the very second you couldn’t deny it anymore. Now can we quit the yapping, we got work to do.”\n\n(Ricky) “Work to do...”\n\nSuddenly Ricky felt a jolt as the scene around him became lively again and the stranger was gone. Ricky stood stunned for a second before the receptionist came over and put his coat over his shoulders. \n\n(Ricky) “Kelly?”\n\n(Kelly) “No arguments mister, a stomach virus is nothing to mess around with. Well have your work done and you have nothing to worry about. Just go home, make some good old fashioned chicken noodle soup, and get some rest.”\n\n(Ricky) “Yeah...yeah I’ll be on my way...”\n\nHe walked out got the lobby and paused for a moment. \n\n(Ricky) “Kelly...did you see someone leave here just a second ago? Black boots, all black outfit, white hair...”\n\n(Kelly) “No...you must be running a fever too.”\n\n(Ricky) “Yeah that’s it...a fever.”\n\nA faked a smile and left the building. To no surprise he found the stranger standing outside the building, people passed him by like he wasn’t even there. \n\n(Ricky) “So only I can see you? Do I like crazy talking to myself?”\n\n“No one can see me if I don’t want them to and as far as they know you aren’t talking to anyone. You’re just standing outside a museum.”\n\n(Ricky) “Ok...I’m sorry, this is a lot to take in. \n\n“I know, now we need to get to your roommate, mind leading the way?\n\n(Ricky) “You can freeze time, convince people I’m sick as a dog, and hide yourself from the naked eye, but you can’t remember simple directions?\n\n“I’ve been around since the dawn of time and it took almost that long to find you, forgive me if my memory isn’t as good as it used to be. “\n\n(Ricky) “Sorry, c’mon, I’ll call Matt on the way to make sure he stays put.”\n\nThe walk from the museum to Matt’s office building was only about 15 depending on the crowd but it seemed to take forever this time. Ricky just wanted to get this over with and every person that stopped or got in the way burrowed into Rickys nerves like a drill. The stranger being silent the whole walk didn’t help matters either. \n\nThey finally arrived out from of the office building. Ricky took a deep breath before walking in. He was immediately greeted by Matt’s ever vivacious secretary throwing her arms around him. \n\n(Ricky) “Good morning Hare, is Mr. Thowers in?\n\n(Harriet) “Mr. Throwers, are you feeling ok?”\n\n(Ricky) “Hard to say honestly.”\n\n(Harriet) “Yes he is in, and may I say I envy you two.”\n\n(Ricky) “You do?”\n\n(Harriett) “Yeah, I love camping! I wish I could go with my best friend but we’re so busy. “\n\nShe returns to her desk and pushes a button. A door opens and Ricky waves at her before going through. \n\n(Ricky) “A camping trip?”\n\n“Don’t know how long this job will take, I need something that’ll keep you both occupied for a while with flexible excuses.”\n\n(Ricky) “Whatever you say...”\n\n“I can’t believe he runs this place and you two live in a studio apartment.”\n\n(Ricky) “He took over this place from his dad, and prefers to live mod-you probably already know that, I’m sorry.”\n\nThe stranger nodded and an elevator dinged in the distance. They watched as Matt hurriedly approached them. He stopped cold when he saw the stranger. \n\n(Matt) “Hi?”\n\n“Long story short kid, I’m here to help you two out of this loop. Dont got a name, don’t got a boss. Now let’s go, we need to pack.”\n\n(Matt) “So is that why people were telling me to be safe on our camping trip Rick?”\n\n(Ricky) “Hey I got a stomach virus so count your blessings...and what do we mean we have to pack?”\n\n“I’ll explain after we leave your place.”"
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[WP] You discovered you can unbreak things or people. Heal broken hearts or broken bones. The line of people wanting to meet you grows bigger every day and you make it your mission to unbreak the world. But when the next man steps forward you can't breathe, it is the Devil.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I know it's late, but I had to respond. Flipped the prompt slightly. Sorry for formatting and grammar:\n\nMy name’s not important, and neither am I. It’s what I can do that matters, what I can do for everyone but me. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been a healer, the only one as far as I know. I don’t mean a doctor or nurse, we have those, I’m more. I can fix anything: toys, books, cars, shelves, burned down homes, destroyed gardens. I can heal the sick, restore the wounded, cure cancer, mend a broken heart, a crushed ego, anything that could ever plague you- physical or mental. Sometimes I wish I had never been given this gift- no this curse. In the beginning I had the best of intentions, helping a friend after a flood, healing a neighbor’s pet who could never afford vet bills, but I was in over my head. Once news got out, I was never alone. Not a single moment was left for me. People from all over the world came to see me, came to be healed, have me fix what only I can.\n\nQueues began forming, lines outside my house and work. My family and friends were bombarded with strangers hoping to reach me. Though they tried, they could never last. Loved ones became distant from the stress of being near me, any potential partner I could ever have was immediately scared off by the crowds. People proclaimed that I was the Messiah, the chosen one, the one who could save us all. That couldn’t be further from the truth, I’m no messiah, I can’t even save myself.\n\nOver the years, the lines became longer, my city was emptied, and I was provided with everything I could ever need. It's been nearly a decade now, and as I further succumb to depression, the faces start to blur even more. Now, reaching my hand out once more to take the pain, I feel something different. This pain has lingered, it’s festered, it’s become hatred, violence, and finally regret. As I look up, I see him, a man, who can only whisper two words before kneeling, “fix me”.\n\nMy eyes trace the figure of the average height, middle-age man, in front of me. As he looks at me, I realize who kneels before me. With a loud gasp, I stumble backward, away from the man with the flaming red eyes, the only man with literal hellfire. “No” is all I could muster as I push backwards against the crowd. “No, No, No, No! This can’t be happening. After all I’ve sacrificed, after all I’ve given! Must I be punished in the afterlife too?” I’m screaming now, terrified for my life. On all fours he follows me, begging. “Please” is all he says. Seeing no alternative, I tentatively extend my hand once more for what will most likely be my final healing.\n\nAs soon as my hand touches him, a heat comes upon me, hotter than anything I have ever experienced. I push on, adrenaline numbing the pain, as wave after wave of sadness and anger wash over me. Millennia of mistakes and regret fill my head with the torturous visions from a life I’ve never known. A life destined for greatness, a life taken for greed. A life that he forsook. New memories are coming, ones I hope to never see again. Hell. I feel the fire, the eternal flame, one that pierces my insides and eats through to my core. Every negative experience forged together into one blade that penetrates every inch of me. Then as suddenly as it began, it stops.\n\n“Thank you” is all he says as a single tear slides down Lucifer’s cheek."
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[WP] "Sir, it's an emergency." "What?" "The villains have started posting 'songs that makes you feel like a villain' videos all over YouTbe in order to sway people to their cause." "And?" "It's actually working. The songs actually slaps."
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The general frowned deeply. \"Slaps, you say?\"\n\n\"Yes sir. Slaps, sir.\"\n\n\"Does it slap...hard?\" the general demanded, eyes narrowing.\n\nThe lieutenant-colonel gulped, sweating. \"Yes sir. Hard af, sir.\"\n\n\"Hmm.\" The general stood, clasping his hands behind him in thought. His thunderous frown did not budge. \"Hard af, you say.\"\n\n\"S-sir,\" the lieutenant-colonel stammered. \"The people are responding. The 'songs that make you feel like a villain' plot is actually working. Crime is up all over the world.\"\n\n\"Crime,\" said the general heavily, \"is against the law.\"\n\nThere did not seem to be any particular reply required here, so the lieutenant colonel simply stood there and sweated a bit more.\n\n\"The law,\" said the general, \"is all that stands between us and utter degeneracy.\"\n\n\"Uh. Yes, sir. Sir.\"\n\n\"The human spirit,\" said the general, \"must be chained. Disciplined!\"\n\n\"Yes sir.\"\n\n\"Then,\" said the general, \"we have no choice. Commence Operation STFU.\"\n\nThe lieutenant-colonel winced. This would be a bitter day in history. Despite his misgivings he saluted, said, \"Yes sir,\" yet again, and spun on his heel, exiting the room with brisk efficiency. \n\nThe general turned to face the window behind his desk. Outside people moved in the streets, far below. A phrase of music drifted by on the breeze.\n\nThe general's toe tapped absentmindedly to the beat. He watched as a few of the small people down on the street began to dance. \n\nDancing, in the general's opinion, was unnecessary and therefore should not exist. But his toe continued to tap, without his awareness. Down in the streets below, a mob began to form. Several stereos joined the first. The beat slapped.\n\nThe general began to feel that he had been hasty. Operation STFU was hardly to be undertaken lightly. Perhaps the music was harmless. Perhaps the crime wave was just coincidence. \n\nA man near a street corner threw a brick through a window and suddenly the whole crowd joined in, laughing, dancing, destroying. Looting. \n\nThe general reached for his cell phone to report the incident. Instead, he did a sudden jig and threw the phone through the window. Glass shattered. Music poured in. The general picked up the desk phone.\n\n\"Abort mission,\" he said to the subordinate officer on the other side.",
"# Bargain Bin Superheroes\n\n(Part 9: Tupperman v.s. The Younger, Cooler Generation)\n\n(Note: Bargain Bin Superheroes is episodic; each part is self-contained. This story can be enjoyed without reading the previous sections.)\n\n**Tupperman considered himself a villain.** Oh, he didn't rob banks or beat up people on the streets—but he didn't help fight against the people who did. Every time Clara had asked him to stand up and fight when they were kids, first against the criminal element of the city, then against the Federal laws that were strangling the Unified Sovereignties, he'd always backed down. Because Tupperware materialization was a *weak* superpower. Because he was a high school dropout with no connections or influence who barely scraped a living out of selling Tupperware to supermarkets that already had overflowing surpluses of the stuff. \n\nBecause he was a villain.\n\nBut now, Tupperman mused, he knew he wasn't weak. He hopped through the air on an ephemeral staircase of materialized-and-disappeared Tupperware; now that Clara was the Mayor, he was personal friends with one of the highest authorities in town; and now that he was on a mission to protect Clara's daughter from a possible *assassin*, he couldn't even properly call himself a villain anymore.\n\nSo why did he still cling to that like an old blanket?\n\nHe adjusted his flight path and angled downwards, constructing the flickering, there-and-gone-and-there-again hovering Tupperware blocks he needed to dance on air. He'd realized, eventually, that the Tupperware he materialized always had the exact same velocity as him, for whatever reason. As such, if he continuously dematerialized and rematerialized a piece of Tupperware, it would appear to hover in the air alongside him, allowing him to launch off of it if he timed it just right. And if he didn't, he'd fall to his death.\n\nBut he wasn't sure he minded that outcome all that much.\n\nHe'd never told Clara just how risky his flight was. He hated it when Clara—or anybody, really—worried about him. \n\nHe landed near the school that Clara's daughter—Janice—went to. Tupperware materialization didn't help pick a face out of a crowd. It didn't help do any of the *really* important things when he needed them. But after a bit of poking at school security and showing some ID, he managed to find Janice.\n\nShe was laughing at a table with four of her friends as music blared; Tupperman relaxed. Clara's fears that she'd pissed off the Feds badly enough to get someone sent after her daughter were unfounded—for now, at least. He cleared his throat, and the five teenagers turned around.\n\n\"Can we... help you?\" Janice finally asked.\n\n\"Uh, yeah. I'm a friend of your mom's. I'm supposed to...\" He paused. He... probably shouldn't mention the whole government assassin thing; it'd just confuse or frighten them. \"Your mom's a little delayed right now; she sent me to keep an eye on you.\"\n\nJanice raised her eyebrows. \"Delayed? With what?\"\n\nTupperman wondered if explaining that her car had been bitten by a werewolf would help the situation at all. He settled on *no*. \"...Work stuff.\"\n\n\"Are you going to take me home, then?\" Janice asked.\n\n\"I, uh, can't drive. I'm just here to make sure you don't... die while your mom's away.\" It was technically the truth.\n\nJanice frowned at him. \"If you can't drive, then how did you get here?\"\n\nTupperman sighed. Well, it was to be expected that he couldn't remain incognito. \"...superpowers,\" he said. He materialized a Tupperware box and plonked it on Janice's head. \"Here. On the house.\"\n\nJanice's eyes widened. \"You're *Tupperman*? The supervillain?\"\n\nHe pressed his lips together. \"Technically, yeah. You gonna call security?\" He almost wished they would. \n\n\"Oh, no, no, don't worry about that. It's an honor to meet you, sir.\" One of Janice's friends burst in.\n\nTupperman blinked. \"...Excuse me?\"\n\n\"Yeah!\" Another of her friends piped up. \"You're my favorite villain!\"\n\n\"...kids have favorite villains nowadays?\" Tupperman asked.\n\nJanice pulled up something on her phone—some kind of song? He hadn't been paying attention to the lyrics before, but it was hard *not* to as she shoved it in his face. \"Here, have you listened to to *What's So Bad About Being A Wolf*? I've always wanted to see what a *real* supervillain thinks of it.\"\n\n\"...What do you mean, what's so bad about being a wolf? Wolves eat people. That's pretty bad.\" He squinted at the kids. \"Are you guys really high schoolers, or did high school stop teaching basic biology?\"\n\n\"Actually, I think you're the one who needs to read up on biology. Wolves almost *never* eat people. They just leave them alone, most of the time.\"\n\n\"That's still *bad*!\" Tupperman burst out. \"Even just—just leaving people alone is being a part of the problem. If you have the power to *help* people, then you *should*—\"\n\nJanice raised a finger in the air, eyes twinkling, and lip-synched along with the song. \"*You don't have to be a hero twenty-four seven; you've gotta save yourself before you burn yourself up. And if taking care of me before the world makes me a villain, then call me Dr. Evil 'cuz I've had enough.*\"\n\nTupperman swallowed, something suddenly stuck in his throat. \"...well, the song's right. I'm evil. I take care of myself and nobody else. *So what's the point?*\"\n\n\"*It's okay to be a wolf.*\" Janice finished lip-synching as the song moved into a guitar chorus, and her friends burst out into cheers.\n\nNone of them noticed the tears in the corners of Tupperman's eyes.\n\nQuickly, he wiped them away before anyone could see. Then, hesitantly, he sat down; the circle of teenagers made room for him. \n\nAnd he smiled.\n\n\"Could I listen to the rest of that album, please?\"\n\nA.N.\n\nI'm trying something new! \"Bargain Bin Superheroes\" will be an episodic story where each part is inspired by a writing prompt that catches my eye. Check out [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/bubblewriters/comments/mhzat1/bargin_bin_superheroes_masterpost/) for more information. As always, I had fun writing this, and I hope you have a good day.",
"“Yo, who *is* this?”\n\nJacobi hadn’t wanted to like the song when Franklin showed him the thumbnail. He’d been seeing superheroes and supervillains on the news all his life, and sometimes, when he went downtown, he’d see them in person. They’d tear through the sky in streaks of royal blue and blood red, and when they landed they were always the same; chiseled white guys with jaw lines more fit for a billboard than real life, no matter what color cloak they wore.\n\nHe’d dismissed the song almost as soon as he’d seen it because of that. He’d noted the shining steel of the villain’s mask and looked immediately.\n\nAnd then the piano and the drums came in and the girl started singing. Eight bars later when the verse began he was hooked.\n\n“MF Doomsday!” Franklin said, “it’s good huh? I told you you’d like it!”\n\nJacobi took the phone, enlarging the video and staring into the MC’s face. It wasn’t even a music video, just a still picture, but the guy oozed charisma. He was big, with muscle but not the chiseled kind, more of an everyday type of strong. He had a thin, wiry beard and bright eyes, all else being hidden by a shiny, chrome plated mask and the mic against his lips. He wore a Knicks jersey and a baseball cap cocked to the side.\n\n“Yeah man, this shit’s fire.” Jacobi hopped up off the bench he sat on, walking a short distance away. “He’s not a Super though, is he? I mean, I thought they were all—”\n\n“White? That’s just what the media wants you to think man. You think they’d do a story on a black guy who calls himself MF Doomsday? Nah, no chance. He’s gotta get his message out on his own.”\n\n“And what’s his message?”\n\nFranklin shrugged. “Beats me, I just heard the one song and then ran over to show you. It’s fuckin’ good though! It makes me want to go do something, like…like…”\n\nThe song ended, instantly shuffling into the next one on the playlist.\n\n*“Yet our best trained, best educated, best equipped, best prepared troops refuse to fight. As a matter of fact, it’s safe to say that they would rather switch than fight!”*\n\nPublic Enemy’s Fight the Power blasted out of Franklin’s tinny phone speakers. The boys sat there listening for a while, nodding their heads along, clenching their fists at the chorus. That song ended too and there was silence.\n\n“Something like that?” Jacobi said.\n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\nIn the suburbs a family sits in front of their TV, microwaved meals sit steaming on trays in front of them while commercials for sponges and magic tape and bad insurance assault their senses. They do not speak, they simply ingest; media and processed food grinding away inside of them, forming a gray, nutrient-less paste.\n\n“And we turn now to our main story of the night,” the pretty young newscaster on the TV said when the commercials ended. “MF Doomsday, a popular new rapper and self proclaimed supervillain, is the internet’s newest viral sensation. With songs like the eponymous *Doomsday, Supervillainz,* and *The Illest Villains*, he is taking America by storm, but what’s the message behind the slick production and catchy rhymes? Joining us now is Tucker Carnegie for more. Tucker?”\n\n“Thanks April. The inner-cities are abuzz with talk about MF Doomsday, a rapper from…”\n\nThe family leans in as the story continues. Their eyes glaze over. He looks scary. There’s a mask, the titles are written in big, bold letters.\n\nTheir meals grow cold. MF Doomsday’s lyrics do not.\n\n\\---------\n\nr/TurningtoWords\n\nRIP MF DOOM."
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[WP] meow.....look Brian I’m sorry but I’m not the idiot who pissed off a wizard.....meow....that is very rude, I am trying to help....meow....we’re going to find the wizard I promise!
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I walked into my house which I shared with my best friend Brian, very tired from my day of peddling potions. I shrugged off my jacket and kicked off my boots before trudging past the cat, offering it a small pet on the head before flopping down onto my rocking chair to relax. \n\nIt was only then that I remembered... Neither Brian nor I owned a cat. I glanced over at the cat in confusion and saw it roll its eyes and wander away for a brief moment before padding over towards my jacket and jumping up, tearing the pocket open and catching a vial of animal communication potion. The cat proceeded to jump into my lap and drop the potion on me. \n\n*Well... Not the most insane thing I've ever done,* I thought as I uncorked the potion. *Bottoms up.* \n\n\"So... cat... What's up?\" I muttered, still wondering if this was going to be of any help.\n\n\"Meow.\" *Hello, Alex. Nice of you to FINALLY come home.*\n\nI rubbed my eyes in disbelief, \"Buh-Buh-Brian?\"\n\n\"Meow.\" *What was your first guess, dumbass?* \n\n\"But... But how?!\" I demanded, gesturing wildly at him.\n\n\"Meow.\" *Long story short, don't tell a wizard his big purple hat looks like an eggplant and then laugh in his face. Now brew me a potion and change me back.*\n\nI sighed and nodded, picking Brian up and dropping him on the floor to which he gave me a very indignant look as I rose from my chair. I was tired and did not want to brew any more potions. I could have just left him like that until the next day... How bad would it have been, really? \n\n\"Meow.\" *Don't you fucking dare.*\n\nI put up my hands as we walked into my workshop and I shrugged on my apron and pulled out my book of potions. *Transformation reversal potion... Transformation reversal potion... Ah! Here it is!* I quickly got to work, stirring together ingredients in my cauldron until I had a nice dose of potion which I poured out into a bowl for Brian. He looked up at me and his expression was less than amused. \"What?\" I demanded. \"It isn't as though you have thumbs to lift a cup right now just drink it.\"\n\nBrain rolled his eyes and lapped at the potion, and a few seconds later there was a puff of smoke and my friend was no longer a ginger cat. Now he was bright pink. He looked at his body and then at me. \n\n\"Meow.\" *Really? PINK?!*\n\nI crossed my arms, \"I'm sorry, Brian, but I'm not the idiot who pissed off a wizard who is clearly much more powerful than any potions of mine.\"\n\n\"Meow.\" *You are a fucking asshole...*\n\nI frowned, \"That is very rude. I am trying my best to help you.\"\n\n\"Meow.\" *So what? I'm still a damn cat!* \n\nI took off my apron and sighed as I shrugged on my traveling bag, snatching Brian up and dropping him into it. \"We're going to go find the wizard and get him to turn you back. I promise.\"\n\n\"Meow.\" *Great. An adventure in which I'm stuck as something without thumbs.*\n\nWe travelled a great many days where Brian mostly napped. Sometimes he woke up to yell at me for not being careful enough with the bag, but he mostly napped. I was thankful that I had the forethought to pack more animal communication potion... at first... But after hearing Brian sing ninety-nine-thousand bottles of potion on the wall at least ten times... I was beginning to regret it.\n\n\"Meow.\" *Six-thousand bottles of potion on the wall! Six thousand bottles of potion!*\n\n\"Shut up!\" I shouted. \"We're here!\" \n\nBrian looked up at me, clearly unconvinced. \"Meow.\" *And how are you possibly sure of that, o wise potion master?*\n\nI withheld the urge to scream and sighed instead, \"You said the wizard who turned you into a cat was wearing a purple hat reminiscent of an eggplant, yes? Well I went to the hat shop and asked around. The wizard Aldemir was the one who bought a hat like that. You would know this if you weren't *asleep* practically the entire time.\"\n\nBrian stretched out and hopped out of my bag. \"Meow.\" *Not like it's my fault I'm so tired all the time. It's my cat body. It keeps telling me to sleep.*\n\n\"And sing at the top of your lungs, apparently,\" I muttered as we walked inside.\n\nThe wizard Aldemir was known to have a great fondness for cats and was able to understand their speech. It was made more apparent when Brian and I walked into his shop and saw all of the cat statues, paintings, cards, and other feline knickknacks. There also happened to be a very sleek black cat sitting on his desk looking pleased with itself about something. \n\nBrian hopped up onto the the desk. \"Meow.\" *We need to see your master, Aldemir.*\n\nThe cat chuckled for a moment before turning into a human girl. \"Why? Did *he* turn you into a hot pink cat?\"\n\nBrian suddenly grew very indignant. \"Meow.\" *Cat, yes, but the hot pink is thanks to my wonderful friend, Alex. And I need to see your father so he can turn me back.* He glared in my direction and I waved a little. \n\nThe girl yawned and sighed, \"Alright, fine. Father, there's some idiot you turned into a cat out here who wants you to change him back!\" she called over her shoulder.\n\nMere moments later the wizard burst into the showroom brandishing a cat-shaped teapot. I struggled not to laugh at his hat. It *did* look just like a damn eggplant! I noticed Brian giving me a sort of smug look and shot him a glare. \n\nAldemir looked down at Brian and crossed his arms, \"So, tried to change yourself back, eh? Well looks like you did a real bang-up job of that, princess cotton candy.\" He placed the teapot on the counter and cracked his knuckles, \"Alright, I'll change ya back. But first... You have to apologize for insulting my hat.\"\n\n\"Meow.\" *Oh, you can't be SERIOUS?! It looks like an eggplant, old man!*\n\n\"Then clearly you don't care very much for getting turned back,\" Aldemir replied, crossing his arms.\n\nBrian growled a little and shook his head. \"Meow.\" *Fine... I am... SORRY for insulting your hat.*\n\nAldemir smirked, \"And ya have to say it's fabulous.\"\n\nBrian's feline eye twitched briefly. \"Meow.\" *It's... fabulous.*\n\nAldemir nodded in satisfaction, and with a wave of his hand my friend was back to normal... and stark naked. And... still had a tail? \"A little reminder not to insult a wizard's hat, you young whippersnapper,\" Aldemir said with a nod as he tossed a robe to my friend who scrambled off of the counter and pulled it on. \n\nSo yeah. Not a very long story, but it ended with a very interesting resolution. Now and again I find Brian occasionally has some leftover feline traits. Like... He sometimes sniffs the catnip I keep for potions and will complain because he gets fleas. He's also almost always arguing with the neighborhood cats about something, too. And his hair is still pink. It's interesting, but all-in-all pretty hysterical. At least he's back to normal for the most part.\n\n*CRASH!*\n\n\"Dammit, Brian!\" I shouted. \"You better not have nudged that vase off the dining room table again!\""
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[WP] After all his trials and tribulations, The Hero finds himself on the precipice of his ultimate goal. But his exploits have taken their toll. So, haggard, weary, and bleeding, he raises his sword one final time, to fight the one he once loved, and at last, save the world.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Bold of you, rising once again just to be smitten down.\"\nThe Overlord, as he calls himself now, smiled, sure of his victory. Not a scratch to be seen on his shining obsidian black armour.\n\n\"I...must..\", the hero, now reduced to a trembling sillhoutte of a once great man, propped himself up with the help of his broken sword.\n\n\"Save the world? Look at you, look at my army. You've lost. Stop resisting, give in, it's over.\" the Overlord leaned backwards, his hands gesturing to the destruction unfolding around the tower. Meteors raining from above, abominations rising from below. The screams of innocents being devoured even reached this high up, a cacophony of pain.\n\n\" No.. No I must...\" his words were interrupted by a bloody cough. Agarys, beacon of Hope, paladin of all that is right, wobbled to a stance and stretched the destroyed hilt of his sword against his enemy. Blood trickling from his lips.\n\"I must save you Zeke.\"\n\nThe Overlord froze.\n\"What?\" he barked \"how dare you call me that. I am all powerful, I am death incarnate. You think I need saving? I'll rip out your guts and feast on your insides. \"\nCrimson energy started crackling around his hands.\nA bolt of malice ripped loose from his arm. With a deafening roar the energy hit the hero his side, sending him flying backwards.\n\nAgarys knew he was dying, no magic artifact could save him. As he hit the ground and rolled over, he came to a stop lying on his back. He had no strength to stand up again. But in his pain something dawned on him. \n\"Re... Remember the flowers Zeke?\" his weak voice barely a sound over the Apocalypse. \n\n\"What?\" the Overlord hovered closer. \"Pitiful last words of a dying madman\" \n\n\"The flowers were in bloom Zeke... Remember? The dahlias. When you said yes... It's been so long. But I remember the Dahlias, they were your favourite\" his weak and broken arm tightly gripping the thing he grabbed from his pocket. \n\n\"I realised... I don't care for the world...\" \n\nThe Overlord hovered to the ground again. His face only confusion where malice had been. \"I don't understand\" \n\n\"I only... Wanted to...see you.. \"\nAs his last breath left Agarys his grip loosened. A silver wedding ring rolled to the floor, and the remains of a dried up flower, a dahlia. \n\nZeke kneeled next to his husband. \n\n\"I win...see world, your new Master. Here he lies broken and dead,your savior of mankind\" the Overlord Zekes voice booming in the dark sky. \n\nHe rose up, removing his helmet and breathing in the sulfuric air. \nIn surprise he touched his face...a tear. \nAnd he realized. \nIn the end still, he had lost."
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[WP] How do you say blessings on a dying star? What funeral rites are performed for long-dead civilizations? How do you mourn a culture so old even their gods are dead?
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"As I stand on the observation deck of a class 3 star cruiser. I cant help but think that blessings would indicate a religion. I will leave such things to priests and those that refuse to acknowledge facts. Even when they stare them blindly in the face. Maybe I have just lost my mind and now the pit is just talking for me. Even as I star directly at the supergiant. I cant help but imagine how busy this system would have been a few thousand years ago. When this star was fresh and new before it burned through its core hydrogen fuel expanded then cooled. We know from our meticulous scans of the ruins. That this was once home to the Jet'Kni a mostly peaceful civilization near the end. From everything we have gathered. They mostly expanded to other nearby star systems. Grew their culture made many scientific advancements a few our own empire will no doubt benefit from. As they grew they went through many renaissance periods developed art and medicine. They primarily became traders. They even elevated a few nearby species to space faring cultures as well. They also studied biology grew cells and various cultures of this or that organism. One of which apparently grew out of hand. A rogue scientist of no name but of obvious merit started experimenting in a private lab. It appears to be some hybrid form of crystalline bacteria. It has an ever changing magnesium ion in its bacterial RNA polymerase. Effectively supercharging anything it comes into contact with. In our own species depending on the point of contact which in the unfortunate case of Officer Brunswick. This involved a ritualistic urn with what turned out to be a molecular edge around the lip being knocked off its altar to the ancient God Hirat who was said to be the embodiment of the water, illness and disease. Effectively creating a deep gash into Brunswick's skull. Which created an opening directly into Brunswick's brain for this bacteria. Fortunately nothing else was disturbed at the site and it was catalogued mostly intact. However a curious chain of events followed. Brunswick was a top science officer he was always very hard on his team. However he only expected them to uphold the standards that he held himself up to. Which is also more or less embodied by our entire culture. He took the incident very hard even though he did not damage the urn or disrupt the site in any meaningful way. He took full responsibility for everything and became a bit withdrawn. Noone thought it odd that he was upset. Some even thought that he might be blowing it out of proportion a bit. However Brunswick retreated to his quarters and private lab for the rest of the Jet'Kni home world expedition. Hindsight being 20/20 I should have known something was off. Brunswick soon stooped cataloguing his work. Noone saw or spoke to him for weeks. It was only once we were done with all of the cataloguing that I asked for a full report and was apprised of the situation. I immediately tried to raise him on comms no response. I went directly to his quarter which turned out to be locked and hadn't been opened since Brunswick was last seen. I overrode the doors and stepped into his dark cabin. I tried the lights no response at that moment the smell hit me. A vague flowery scent pungent yet sweet. I called for an electrical team to fix the issue with the lights. Then turned my cuff computers screen to full brightness. The entire room was in shambles and the door to Brunswick's lab on the opposite wall of his living quarters was wide open. But I could see nothing but shadows and some broken glass near the door. I called out but received no reply I drew my weapon and cancelled the electrical team and told security to come to me now. Then I drew my sidearm an electromagnetic needle gun that was luckily always in hands reach. I only had standard needles but there was still the risk of them damaging the ship or its systems. So I turned the power as high as I dared while approaching the lab. I tried the lights in the lab to my astonishment and horror they worked. What was infront of me was a writhing mass of tentacles in the uniform of a science officer. With one large unblinking eye starting to train itself on me. Turns out the bacterial hybrid effected Brunswick's neuronal channels changing his hormonal levels and the structure of his brain causing a cascading effect into what I saw before me. I emptied 7 shots into the creature. Shortly after the security team showed up. I had them block and clear the area. I had medical begin a full workup and examination of the creature. I instructed them to share all findings with the science team Brunswick led. I also had the ship quarantine the area and submitted to a full scan and medical workup. Turns out a medical team on the planet had already catalogued the crystalline bacteria. It was completely harmless unless it got inside of a living organism. Which as it turns out it had roughly 4300 years ago the Jet'Kni were brought to their knees when their civilization fractured. Which was caused by a few \"harmless\" experiments of the aforementioned scientist \"escaped\" or were allowed to roam free. Which then in turn mutated other animals and Jet'Kni and spread to most of their worlds before it was caught. Those not infected were effectively stranded. Due to them not being self sufficient and dependant on other colonies they eventually collapsed as well. Many just scattered in the streets in awkward positions. Some clearly having been involved in battle holding what would have been to them at the time ceremonial spears. As they hadn't been a warring civilization in hundreds of years at the point of their collapse. After this incident I received many requests for permission to bury various Jet'Kni since we had catalogued everything of use. I personally couldn't fathom how or why. This world and many others had sat dormant for so long. So I asked them how they would do it. Many stated things common in our own culture. I looked through all the data we just archived. It seems that they had just as many burial rites as we did. I auto replied to all request's a denial and loaded everyone back onto the ship. We launched and as I stared at the supergiant a thought struck me. I triggered 7 supernovas once we were well on our way. What better way to mourn these dead cultures their gods and their civilizations than to feed them to the dead stars that sparked their life in the first place?",
"# Bargain Bin Superheroes\n\n(Arc 2, Interlude 1: Mare)\n\n(Note: Bargain Bin Superheroes is episodic; each part is self-contained. This story can be enjoyed without reading the previous sections.)\n\n**Mare had seen death one million, six hundred and fifty three thousand, nine hundred and twenty times.** Twenty-one thousand of those deaths were someone Mare loved; seventy-six of *those* deaths were of a child; nineteen of the dead children Mare had loved had perished during a sunset; and of those nineteen, four had bled out in Mare's arms, eyes fixed on the brightening stars, whimpering softly as Mare stroked them and whispered, \"It'll be okay.\"\n\nFour became five as the child Mare cradled died.\n\nMare's eyes closed, memories of the sunset children flickering behind their eyes. The oncoming night quenched the last sparks of light, and still Mare knelt, guarding the fallen child from scavengers and insects. They could have knelt there for a day, or a week, or until the sun grew orange and the stars burned out.\n\nBut they only had a precious few hours before their sibling found them.\n\n\"Mare,\" a soft voice said. Mare opened their eyes. They'd stayed in the same position for most of the night, but their body felt no soreness as they gently set the child on the floor and stood. Around them, blast marks and ash marked where the falling bombs had wiped this town off the map. \"Mare, come on. It's time to go.\"\n\nMare looked up at their sibling, who had decided to take the form of a sinuous, snake-like dragon. Mare scoffed. \"Tamulu, why do you still wear that form?\"\n\n\"To remember the Middle Communes,\" Tamulu replied, its shaggy-maned jaw opening and closing like that of a puppet's. \"I quite liked their culture. Their gods, especially.\"\n\nMare snorted. \"The Middle Communes are all but dead. Their culture is scattered to the wind, their gods nothing but footnotes in historical textbooks. Within two generations, they will be nothing but whispers of grandmothers to uncaring children; within four, we will be the last to remember. And we will hold a quiet funeral for forgotten gods, and we will carry their memories with us forever.\"\n\nTamulu tilted its head. \"This is correct.\"\n\n\"But it isn't *right*.\" Mare paced. They had had this discussion with Tamulu seventy-four times before, and one thousand, nine hundred and six times with all their siblings in total; they hated how intricately they could remember each and every time they'd failed to convince a single one of them to change. \"The ideas—I can accept letting the ideas of these people die, perhaps.\"\n\n\"The ideas are not truly dead,\" Tamulu said. \"They live on in our memories, and we can re-create them. Incarnate them into new people, new vessels.\"\n\n\"But the people themselves...\" Mare looked at the child's corpse in their arms. \"How can we let them die?\"\n\nTamulu paused, cocking its head. \"They do not die,\" Tamulu finally said, slower this time. \"They live on in our memories, and we can re-create them. Incarnate them into new people, new vessels. Our memories are beyond flawless. Every proton, neutron, and electron of that child is burned into your brain; and when this world's time is up and we must mourn the dying of its star, then we will re-create its inhabitants at the end of everything, and let all who were sheltered by Earth's embrace witness its funeral.\"\n\n\"You're wrong about one thing.\" Mare clenched a fist. \"They *do* die. They die in fear and agony, and they stay dead, their parents and friends mourning them, for however many *billions* of years it takes for the sun to burn out and for us to bring them back. We could save them from all that sorrow, Tamulu.\"\n\nTamulu closed its eyes mournfully. \"We could save some of them, if we invested the effort. But we could never give them all utopia. Recording their lives and saving their beliefs, without playing favorites, is the best we can do.\"\n\nMare turned away. They knew Tamulu would say that, and they knew they would have no response.\n\nThey'd seen it all before, after all. And Tamulu's response never changed.\n\n\"Are you ready to leave, sibling?\" Tamulu asked.\n\nMare held up a hand. \"Just... one more day.\" They found a sturdy piece of wood that could serve as a shovel, struck it against the hard dirt, and began digging. \"To remember... to remember her. Jian-jian.\" Mare looked at the fallen child, burning her into their memory.\n\n\"Of course, sibling.\" Tamulu watched as Mare dug a grave, as they had done nine hundred thousand times before. \"Remember them well. You'll see them again.\"\n\nMare made no reply, their arms pumping like pistons. Tamulu watched them for a long moment.\n\nThen with a wingbeat of a dying god, Tamulu left Mare to their mourning.\n\nA.N.\n\nI'm trying something new! \"Bargain Bin Superheroes\" will be an episodic story where each part is inspired by a writing prompt that catches my eye. Check out [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/bubblewriters/comments/mhzat1/bargin_bin_superheroes_masterpost/) for the rest of the story, and subscribe to r/bubblewriters for more. If you have any feedback, please leave it below. As always, I had fun writing this, and I hope you have a good day.",
"Kishar slowly walked down the gangway of her ship. She had landed all the way at the end of the small path that led towards the looming pyramid in the distance. Her path. Over the aeons she had dredged it through the broken, barren terrain with her footsteps. She was the only living being who had set foot on this world in a very long time. Kishar had visited Anshar’s grave so many times. This would be the last. She looked up at the giant round of the dying sun that filled half the sky. A few days from now it would envelop this planet as well. A small display in the corner of her vision nervously blinked, warning her of the hard radiation her belt detected. She wasn’t in any danger, not yet. For a time, the belt would have protected her even if the sun swallowed her.\n\n“Those who live longer than the stars themselves,” she silently murmured. *Soon, even that curse would come true.* It was what the people of this planet had once called them. A long time ago, when it had still carried life. They had always been Anshar’s favourites.\n\nWhen she reached the pyramid, an opening appeared in the smooth wall before her. “Welcome back, Kishar,” a disembodied voice said. *Anshar’s voice.* It wouldn’t have opened for anyone but one of her people and Kishar knew there were enough hidden weapons pointed at her to ward off any imposter. She walked on without hesitation, down into the dark. Behind her, the entrance vanished again. The dimly lit corridor led into a giant chamber. Images of scenes from long-gone times when this world still was bustling with life covered its walls. The thought crossed Kishar’s mind that when those were gone, too, her memories would be the last that remained of this world’s peoples. In the centre of the chamber stood a smaller pyramid, completely made of glass. Anshar lay inside it. A hologram of Anshar, to be more precise. Anything that could kill one of them generally didn’t leave a body for display. Kishar walked over to him.\n\n“Hello, my love,” she whispered as she pressed a hand on the glass. For a long moment, she stood there and looked at him. Anshar’s hologram slowly breathed like he was just asleep, but it wasn’t programmed to reply to her. Finally, she tore her eyes off him and with a quick gesture of her hand pulled up a display. “You have faithfully served as guardian long enough, you have done your duty.” Kishar smiled sadly as she input a long series of symbols. “You are free now. I’m sorry you’ll have to go ahead alone. You’ll have to wait for me a little longer.”\n\nThe pyramid accepted her code and a small panel at its base opened, revealing the key. It was a small, golden block, maybe half the span of her hand, with a chain to wear it like a necklace. An intricate pattern of red lines snaked over its surface. The key looked tiny and when she picked it up it felt not nearly as heavy as it should have for what it was. For a second she considered leaving it to burn in the sun, but then she put it around her neck.\n\nKishar sighed and gave the pyramid one last command, to shut down all its defences. She vanished the display again, then she slowly walked back to the exit. In the mouth of the corridor, she turned back for a last look at Anshar’s hologram. “Soon,” she promised.",
"“Another one!” Clarkie says.\n\nI ruffle his hair and wipe a smudge of banana yogurt from his cheek with a napkin. Clarkie likes physics, but he *loves* yogurt.\n\n“Alright, buddy,” I say, pulling out the sensor. “Show me which one.”\n\nHe squints up at the night sky, then points. I lift the sensor in the same direction and he peers at the screen.\n\n“Lower. By the reddish nebula. Past Canopus.”\n\nI adjust the sensor.\n\n“Yes, there,” he jabs a yogurt-sticky finger at the display. “Do you see it?” \n\nI nod, though I don’t know which star he’s talking about. They’re all the same to me. He’s not looking at me anyway, his head is lifted and he’s peering into the sky again.\n\n“Ok, dad - can you check?”\n\nI poke at buttons until the display shows frequencies. When it hits a hot spot, I adjust dials until we find the right wavelength. \n\nWhen Clarkie first discovered this latest fascination, I briefly despaired. Other kids wanted a new jetter, or SonoDiscs, or a trip to Amusement Drone. My kid wanted to listen to the universe. A niche hobby and an expensive one too. \n\nSomething buzzes up on the screen. Clarkie shakes his head. The kid can tell right away what the signals mean. I move another dial, moving us a little further back in time. The next time there’s a buzz, Clarkie hushes me in excitement.\n\nThe footage is grainy. Is it a cartoon? No - a dance number. Some kind of musical. Clarkie bounces up and down a bit. I squint harder to try to see what he sees.\n\nClearly a less evolved planet, but one that reached its industrial leisure stage. Bipedal. They sway and sing, dancing on some kind of rooftop under a bright green sky. They are holding each other. They are in love.\n\nClarkie reaches out and touches the screen again, this time gently.\n\n“Wow,” he says.\n\nMy eyes soften as I look at the kid. I don’t know where he got this sentimental streak from - not me or his mom, as far as I can tell - but something about it tugs at my heartstrings. \n\nHe gazes raptly at the screen until the dance number ends. “Thank you,” he whispers, as the camera pans to a starry green sky and then fades away. “Goodbye.”",
"\"This is the EFS Dali, sending out a distress call. Our ship's engine ate itself. We were sent ballistic into the ruins of Talo site alpha. In accordance with the Talo treaty, we have made no attempt to salvage or explore the ruins. We only wish for transport from this system. Please respond, our rations are low.\"\n\n\"They say hunger brings madness,\" Sarah said as she scratched against the rounded window of the Dali, \"but I feel clarity, peace.\"\n\n\"The mad are often content, I think. If you could imagine a new reality for yourself, I would pick one I liked.\" James replied during the pause between repeats of the distress signal that sent out every minute, in every direction. He sat beside Sarah, looking at the blackened metal structures outside, dwarfing all possible reference. They sat in the spinning cage of a dead star. \n\n\"What do you think killed them, the Talo? What force is powerful enough to kill a civilization that could build half of a Dyson sphere?\" Sarah asked, tracing the curve of the black horizon rising up impossibly past the distant brown dwarf, looking more like an illuminated gas giant than a star. No storms danced there. It was as tired and dead as those who built around it.\n\n\"Another civilization? A disease? Some Pandora's box of technology we're doomed to someday open as well? A vengeful God striking down the arrogant half way through the construction of the tower of Babel.\" James felt atypical dread, wishing he could take the last words back. Bile rose in his throat. He would open the windows when he was done.\n\nA groaning of metal echoed followed by a sound between rolling thunder and cracking glass cascaded around them, it's source likely more than a continent away. Yet another slow fracture pulling bits larger than planets to fall lazily to the star below. Sarah realized she was clutching James's shoulder, as though he could protect her from this artificial world falling apart. \"Do you think anyone mourned them? This great civilization?\"\n\n\"If they were like the powerful species now, any left to mourn likely celebrated instead,\" James said, holding Sarah through the breaking storm around them, the sounds of the millennia long decay of this steel carcass of a dead God.\n\n\"And why would they not take over? This has more habitable surface area than 100 planets. Why does the treaty not let anyone land here while we're at it?\"\n\n\"Maybe that's part of the collapse. The fields are laid with salt. The place is tainted.\"\n\n\"What if we die here? If the food runs out, will you go out there with me and walk that forbidden world? What's the worse it could do? Kill us faster?\" Sarah pulled away from James. He was clutching her too tightly.\n\n\"Actually, I went out yesterday. While you slept, I spent hours wandering the halls. They must have been very small. I had to crawl on my hands and knees.\" James licked his lips and blinked rapidly, trying to control his breathing.\n\n\"Oh, James. Did you find what they didn't want us to see? This taint?\" Sarah relaxed again, no longer pushing against him.\n\n\"I did,\" he said with the grin of the grave. \"They killed a god here and drank of his ashes, yet he lingers still.\" He closed his fingers around Sarah's neck and squeezed. She did not fight him as the distress signal sent her voice to echo through the ruins of the Talo, all its dancers unseen.\n\n\\---\n\nThanks for reading.\n\nIf you liked this, check out /r/surinical to see more of my prompt responses and other writing.",
"Humanity had reached for the stars for as long as we’d seen them there. Glorified them in myth and legend, painting creatures in the sky in their image, creating gods that encompassed the unfathomable vastness of the universe. We ventured out slowly, as a kitten does as it takes its first steps out of doors, knowing the power the dark abyss held. Knowing the universe might have created us, but it would see us dead without hesitation if we failed to pay it the proper fear and respect.\n\nAs we dared to take steps further and further from the rock we called home, it was baby steps at first, to our own backyard. To the nearby planets, then further as we advanced, as we grew, as we learned. Science let us stand on the shoulders of giants, and in turn let our children do the same, and we learned to bend and warp the universe, learned of its rules and its exceptions. And we learned to travel, and that was the biggest gift knowledge of the universe could impart upon us.\n\nBut as we made our way across the stars, we found ourselves staggered by its emptiness. Unable to grasp how far we had to go, how deeply we had to search, and we hadn’t accounted for what we might find that was lacking. We found planets primed for live, the primordial ooze we spoke of coalescing like the stars in a nebula, just sparkling with the first hints of life. Billions of years too early, we marked them on a map like the navigators of the seas before us, and we moved on.\n\nThe others we found were far more devastating.\n\nThere were ruins, planets of dust and mountains and valleys, worlds that promised a past of life, that held clues that we’d shared this universe with others at least once before, that we were simply too late. The first planet that we established had certainly harbored life, stupendous, plentiful life, was a blow to all of humankind. We were too late, only able to stand on the surface of a planet once alive, only imagine what it could have been, what we could have seen.\n\nAnd how do you say blessings on a dying star? What funeral rites are performed for long-dead civilizations? How do you mourn a culture so old even their gods are dead? We struggled dearly. Humans long for connection like the relentless pull of one magnet to another, and to know that there had been others like us, all of us wept for how close we could have been to such a place.\n\nThen we found more planets where we were too late, and even worse, we found evidence of unnatural creation. Countless eons passed, and remnants barely discoverable, but they were there. And we strained to stay positive even as we felt more alone in the universe than we had back on Earth, because back on our home planet, we’d had the chance. The possibility that we weren’t alone, that others were watching, even visiting, daydreamed of the day we might meet other creatures who would understand the momentous, stupendous event such a meeting was.\n\nOh, how we mourned. We had no precedent to lament the loss of a planet, of innumerable intelligent creatures that lived, breathed, created, loved, explored, *yearned* like we do. A day of memorial seemed shallow, a minute of silence seemed insulting, offensive, the idea that we could quantify a loss of this magnitude. So, we shouldered the burden of this, of species long past, of friends we would never make and knowledge we would never learn.\n\nAll we could do was keep moving forward in our exploration, our drive deep inside uncompromising, determined we should stay the path. Humanity flourished among the stars, accomplishing a dream we’d had for so very long, we prospered, even among the inevitable conflicts and wars. We prospered because we discovered and learned and expanded our universe far beyond that of the tiny backyard we’d once been confined to.\n\nThere was only one way to move past the mourning of entire planets, and that was to encounter another civilization like ours, stretching out for them just as we hoped they were reaching for us. We were resolute to search until either we found them or they found us, to keep going, persistent as only humans could be.\n\nAnd the day we found them was glorious.\n\n​\n\n/r/storiesbykaren"
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[WP] On that momentous day, SETI confirmed that they recieved a message from an alien civilization, however it's meaning is unclear as it's comprised of a single word: "Stop".
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*"
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[WP] Modern progress has left old superstitions and myth behind, dismissing them as mere hearsay. With the decline in belief and ritual to keep us safe, Old, Dark Things have begun to proliferate again.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"It liked the shadows. They were safe.\n\nEven this, the one night a year when it could probably show its true face without all the attendant screaming and panic, it was hard to break habits of self-preservation.\n\nIt liked this night for another reason too. There was an abundance of young, clean prey about. The last half-century had not been kind in this regard. The movements of young, clean prey had been more restricted of late, more and more rarely venturing alone into the dark, safe places. Some years it had only been able to prey on the old and unclean. Too often with poison in their essences, which made it feel ill sometimes? But sometimes that was all it could find alone in the safe, dark places.\n\nAt least the prey didn’t tell stories about it anymore, or of the Old Ones that it used to hide from. They were gone. But the prey didn’t know it was still here. In the dark, safe places. \n\nIt shuddered in annoyance. The young, clean ones seemed to all be in groups or pairs. The ones who weren’t were constantly attended by large ones. Not worth the risk.\n\nIt heard a sound. A gentle cry. Like the sounds the young, clean ones make when they are distressed, but quiet. Where was that coming from?\n\nIt darted into another side alley. The sound was louder. Perhaps from behind that large, boxy waste receptacle. Yes, that was definitely where the sound was coming from. And in a dark, safe place. \n\nIts proboscis unfurled and began to quiver in excitement. It got closer, hiding itself from the prey that it knew must be just on the other side. Another soft whimper. It suppressed the urge to give the feeding call, as it had done for centuries.\n\nIt pounced!\n\nBut—\n\nNo!\n\nThey were gone! The Old Ones were gone! Not like this! Stop! Wait—\n\nThe Old One finished its meal. How satisfying. This was so much easier now that they didn’t tell stories about it anymore.",
"Friends and family always teased me for being superstitious. \n\nNo hats on the bed, no open umbrellas in the house, salt tossed over the shoulder when spilled, the horseshoe with the opening up, leaving out milk and bread for the little ones. Salt along the windowsill, brick dust along the floor under the door. And on and on. \n\nYes, it was time consuming, but it was my normalcy, a way to fill the void. Order in a world where I had grown up fostered from family to family.\n\nAnd they always teased me over it. Nothing hateful, just chuckling when I asked for a new fork when I dropped the one I had. Eventually I got tired of worry about I welcome visitors and started carrying my own antique silver knife and fork.\n\nI kept telling them a little care, a little belief in the old world would do them good. They pointed out that fairy tales were just stories and that it was time to join them in the modern age. I pointed out my smart phone. They pointed out my lack of a television or computer. I pointed out my shelves if books. They pointed out a Kindle could contain that whole library. It went round and round.\n\nOh well, people worship what they worship and I didn't mind my rituals. They made me feel safe in an increasingly mean and dark world.\n\nAnd then my superstitions saved my life and I had no idea that it began that night.\n\nI went to bed after pouring new brick dust and salt along my window and doorway. I hung the new garlic above my bed and spread poppy seeds all over the floor. I opened news papers I had been saving, nearly a two foot tall stack, and put half under the window and the other next to the door. And finally, as I lay down I knocked on the piece of oak I kept for the purpose and said a little agnostic prayer, a little please be okay and everyone be okay thing.\n\nI awoke to screams from my neighbors apartment. Snapping awake I looked around wildly, but all was well in my room. I quickly vacuumed up the seeds and poured them back into their container, cleaned up the newspapers, restacking them next to my mattress, which rested on the floor and wiped away the dust and salt. The garlic and horseshoe went into their basked and I used sage to clear any negativity away. As I did this I noticed a crackling in the air, like static electricity. Nothing major, just odd.\n\nI got dressed and stepped out onto the landing where a man in a long coat and big hat was standing. I could see his face and kept my eyes to the side instead of meeting his. It may have been just another neighbor, but superstitions wee superstitions and the eyes were the window to the soul. The man asked me something and I just ignored him and left. The screaming of my neighbor was melded with the sirens of approaching police and an ambulance. \n\nI had no idea what was happening, but I minded my business and headed to work.\n\nAlong the way I kept seeing things. Things moving and trying to get my attention. One aggressive woman tried to get in my face, but I did my old trick to confuse people and flipped the mirror I kept in my pocket into her face.\n\nAnd she screamed and flew up, UP! That's when I really noticed what was going on. \n\nThere were...things...in the street and on the sidewalk. A pair of achingly beautiful women were talking with a pair of men, who were clearly captivated, nodding at whatever the women were saying. The women smiled, flashing sharp teeth that the men didn't notice.\n\nAcross the street a thick and rubbery hand was reaching out of the sewer grate and holding a ball out to a little boy who had stepped away from his mother. \n\nI normally just minded my business, but couldn't let this go. I crossed the street and smiled at the boy, bending down and \"accidentally\" dragging my heavy iron charm bracelet along the wrist of the beast. With a hiss the arm withdrew. I shooed the boy back to mother and hurried to work, making no eye contact, speaking to no one. \n\nThe office was empty, or so I thought. I walked towards the break room and everyone was standing there, blank faces and empty eyes, staring at a donut. I blinked and the donut became a round node of flesh, mouths, and eyes rolling around and whispering. I felt it draw me in, but before it could fully pull me in I muttered a prayer to myself and stepped forward, grabbing a chair and smashing the horrible thing. It chattered and gobbled but I grabbed the salt container in the counter and poured it liberally. The devil donut turned to stinking goo that faded to nothing in moments . \n\nMy coworkers collapsed. I decided it was time go and turned around. I went to my desk and called 911 but there was only static and then a melodious voice asked me what I would give to get help. I politely declined and hung up.\n\nI went home, put all my little superstition do dads up, and went to bed. I slept well, surprisingly, only waking up to a face looking in my fifth floor window. I pretended I didn't see it, as one should, and went back to sleep.\n\nI guess when technology took over for spiritually, it opened the door, and things follow the sounds of television and the cellphone signals and the wires of the internet back to our world. \n\nI think I had better call my friends and family tomorrow and let them know."
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[WP] A large group of Minecraft users build something unexpected
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"You log onto a new server that your friend had been building on for a long time. Some kind of project, only now open to the public. You spawn in next to your friend and call him on Discord. \n\n\"So, where's this new build?\" You ask him, looking around for any sign of a cool build. Maybe a mansion or a tribute to a youtuber or just a giant mob.\n\n\"Follow me,\" Your friend says and takes off towards a nether portal hidden among the trees. You follow him inside and enter the hell hole of minecraft's second dimeson.\n\nYou look around again, maybe for a renovated nether fortress or for a giant tower. \"Is it here?\"\n\n\"Nah,\" Your friend laughs. \"This is just a faster way to get to it. Now come on!\"\n\nYour friend races off into the red smoke and you follow him, hoping that your hunger doesn't go down and you get sniped by a piglin. \n\nThe two of you ran through the wasteland of the nether, occasionally running on top of crimson trees to avoid hoglins and piglins. At one point a ghast almost hits you from behind, but your friend kills it with his bow before it has a chance to kill you. \n\nAll the while, you're thinking. Wondering. What ould be so special that it needs to be hundreds of blocks away from spawn? A netherite vault? A secret diamond mine? Maybe a castle made solely out of nether materials?\n\n\"Alright, in here,\" Your friend says as he walks through a wall. You do a double-take, half expecting there to be a glitch. Maybe the blocks rendered incorrectly?\n\n\"Um...\" You start to question, but your friend's head appears through the blocks again. \n\nHe laughs and says, \"It's just map art, dummy. Now come on! It's really cool!\"\n\nTentatively, you begin to walk forward, half expecting this to all be an elaborate ruse to get you to fall into lava. But there is now lava. Just a normal, 4x5 nether portal in a dug-out hole. \n\n\"Get ready,\" your friend warns as you both enter the nether portal. \"This is gonna be cool.\"\n\nYour mind is racing as you wait for the terrain to load. What secret build did your friend spend so long on?\n\nThe terrian loads. \n\nA lag spike hits you so bad your frames drop to 6 fps. \n\nYou can hear your friend laughing as you look up to see... a giant Mr. Bean made out of sheep."
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[WP] Doctor Artemis Bloem, coroner of Westchester County, has a most peculiar hobby. He grows tissues from the fresh flesh of murder victims. The latest addition to his collection is most unusual. A young man killed by an oaken stake driven into his chest and through his heart.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
" \n\nGood day to you, oh dearest reader! \n I am that Dr Artemis Bloem. \n In the medical world, I’m a leader, \n an expert in surgery rooms. \n \n\nBy day, I toil as the coroner \n assessing the county’s deceased. \n In evenings, I turn forerunner, \n in taboo medicines unreleased! \n \n\nSome poor young lives end ‘fore they start, \n their empty bodies lay cold and forgotten. \n These bare vessels I piece apart, \n to put whole again, vital, ne’er rotten! \n \n\n’Twas a young woman, not 2 decades old \n rolled into my mortuary. \n A victim of ghastly murder, I’m told. \n The guilty, a mercenary. \n \n\nHer waxen face, her broken limbs \n broke my most frozen of hearts. \n But this man would pay for his sins, \n when new life, I to her would impart. \n \n\nThe lightning coursed through her,\n\nwith potent report. \n The shock would imbue her, \n with a deadly focus of sorts. \n \n\nMy darling dead bride, alive once again \n hunted the old soldier down. \n The murdered to death was condemned, \n his entrails spread through the town. \n \n\nAnd now my newest project I seek \n a strapping youth of recent passing. \n His cause of death is quite unique \n in its uncommon fashion. \n \n\nA stake is buried straight into his chest \n the strong heart now quite cleaved. \n I couldn’t lay his body to rest, \n when he could be made again to breathe. \n \n\nHe will make a fine servant, \n when it’s all said and done. \n a fearsome tool for my service, \n with power second to none. \n \n\nIt’s wrong to play God, in most peoples eyes. \n But that line I’m worthy of blurring. \n And yet, this is quite a surprise. \n How odd, his chest is stirring!!"
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[WP] Every time you successfully get rid of the monster in the closet, there's always another monster to take its place. One day, you decide to investigate once and for all where all these monsters are coming from.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Not this again, I cursed under my breath. I stumbled out of the warm embrace of my blankets and made my way towards my closet. \n\n“Shoo, go on!” I yelled. The three eyed horror grunted and squirmed deep into the shadows of the closet.\n\n I had been seeing these....monsters every night in my closet, seeming to appear out of thin air. I soon learned these things were harmless and would only stare at me. Never ever leaving the closet they would just study me as if I was some caged animal in a zoo. \n\n“Just leave me alone!” I cried out to the new abomination that had took the other’s place. \n\nMy cry was only met with silence as the new thing peered at me with a pair of gaping eyes. Monsters weren’t real...so how was this happening. I had refrained from calling the police or an investigative agency since it would obviously make me look crazy. Single man, 30 year old living alone in the woods. I just preferred solitude to pursue my writing career but this often left people being weirded out. Now, I had no choice. I picked up the phone and dialed 911. I explained my situation to them, and they replied saying help would be there shortly. They didn’t even seem surprised, it was almost like they received calls like this all the time. Fifteen minutes later I heard a knock at the door, they had finally arrived. Instead of a police officer it was an older man in a white lab suit. He had kind eyes and neatly combed gray hair. He walked right through the front door past the monster as if it didn’t exist, and looked into the closet.\n\n“Mr Sullivan?” He said. \n\n“Yes? That’s me.” \n\n“My name is Richard Smith and I understand the problem you’ve been having.”\n\nThe relief that poured through me was almost euphoric. \n\n“Thank gosh.” I breathed to myself. “Can you get rid of them for good?” I asked.\n\n“I can’t say for sure, but I would hope so,” he chuckled.\n\nRichard left that night keeping his identity very vague. I honestly couldn’t care less about who he was, I just needed these darn things out. Like he promised he was there the next day at our schedule meet time. \n\n“Good morning Richard” \n\n“Good morning Will. Did you sleep well”? \n\n“No of course not. How could I with those...things staring at me,” I glanced to my closet. \n\nA hint of pity flashed in his eyes,\n\n“Yes well take a seat Will.” \n\nHe started by talking to me. All sorts of questions about this and that. Before long our session was over. He promised to be back everyday for the next month to help me get rid of the monsters. As he was stepping outside I asked,\n\n“Richard?”\n\n“Yes?” He replied without turning around.\n\n“When will the monsters be gone?”\n\n“Hopefully soon Will,” and he walked away. \n\nThese sessions continued like this for weeks. Despite my inquiries, Richard never revealed much about himself. I was still waiting for him to get rid of the monsters. After almost a month had passed, Richard had told me to see if the monsters were still in the closet. So that night I stared at the closet into the darkness enfolding it. To my complete bewilderment I couldn’t see any. They were gone. Not a trace of them to be found. Despite my shock, I saved my questions for Richard and forced myself to try and rest. The late nights were finally rubbing off on me anyway. I closed my tired eyes and drifted into a restful slumber. \n\nThe next morning a knock on the door came at the usual time. I opened the door to see Richard. \n\n“Please come in!” I offered with enthusiasm. He greeted me and took his usual spot on the couch. \n\n“Will, did you see any monsters in your closet last night?”\n\n“No!” I exclaimed, “How’d you do it sir? I must know.”\n\n“If you must now I guess I shall tell you.” He shifted in his chair uncomfortably.\n\n“Will, this may be hard to hear but those monsters aren’t real. They’re just in your head.” He said this with a kind tone.\n\n“It can’t be.” I muttered.\n\n“You see im a therapist Will. When you called the police that one night, they sent me since they knew you a police wouldn’t be able to help with the problem you’re having.”\n\nHe smiled, “I think my work here is done.” \n\nUnable to form words I just nodded and set him off. I sat alone in my living room pondering this for some time. Monsters in my head…? The more I thought about it the more I realized he was right. Monsters aren't real, I laughed to myself. Maybe I did go a little crazy being inside this house all alone this time. I chuckled to myself. \n\nI spent the rest of the day outside enjoying the cool summer breeze. As evening fell I went through my nightly routine and got ready for bed. I turned the AC on to 70 degrees. Just how I liked it. I clambered into bed and flicked the lights off thankful to have a peaceful night’s rest for once. I stared at the closet for as long as I could, no monster to be found. My mind had finally stopped playing tricks on me. As I started to slip into tranquil dreams, my half closed eye caught a glimpse of a thousand different eyes. Though these eyes weren’t in the closet. They were right next to my bed.\n\n\nTook some creative liberty with this one. Btw I'm new to writing so any feedback or criticism is appreciated!",
"Every day, every single *damn* day they come, I'm so tired of them, whether it be those pesky shadows, hideous hydras, or even those weird gladiator golem things, they're always coming. I don't even know how they fit through my closet, but somehow they do. the only good thing about all this is that they're easy to kill and I get experience points. Let me give you a bit of information about those. In this world there are the traders, the buyers, the dungeoneers, the soldiers, and the monarch. The dungeoneers kill monsters, creatures, and the like, and they get experience points from the things they kill. The more you kill the more points you get. The traders have a bunch of stuff to trade with the dungeoneers along with items and goods to sell to the buyers, who, since they don't have the ability to kill, buy things with money they earn from working, either as soldiers, or doing other everyday jobs. The soldiers, like I said before, are either the buyers, or they're dungeoneers who can no longer do dungeons. The Monarch is the one in charge of everything else, taxes and that stuff. Because I have these monsters coming out of my closet, I don't ever need to go to the dungeons, even though I'm licensed as a dungeoneer. Though its convenient, I'm getting tired of it, I want to go back into the dungeons, but if I don't kill these monsters, their just going to overflow my house, and I don't want that. I'm not sure where they're coming from, but it seems like they're coming from the dungeons. After all my closet is attached to them, for easy access. I think I'm gonna block up that entranceway so they stop coming into my closet.\n\n\\---------------------------------------\n\nThis is my first comment on here, any advice or constructive criticism would be welcome",
"“Go on, get out of here.”\n\nI lifted the cup from the old birthday card, breaking the seal and letting the twenty-legged abomination out. I shut and locked the front door as quickly as possible and watched through the window panes as the creature scuttled off my wooden steps and out into the darkness.\n\nShivering from both the cold midnight air and my disgust, I turned the porchlight off and hurried back upstairs. I found my bedroom exactly as I had left it—in pure disarray. Though smaller than the usual beasties that escaped from my closet, this last one had caused the most damage.\n\nI rubbed at my tired eyes and picked up the comforter I’d thrown off of myself and nearly twisted my ankle on mere minutes before. The glass I’d used to trap the creature had once been half-filled with water, but it had fallen from my bedside table in the struggle and spilled on the ugly brown carpet. It would dry by the morning, but my underwear drawer wouldn’t pick itself up.\n\nSetting my comforter back on my mattress, I crouched down by the drawer and a horrifying thought popped into my head. What if that thing had left eggs behind? Grimacing, I started to inspect every sock, bra, and undergarment in the light from my ceiling lamp. Minutes later, I was happy to report that tonight’s monster hadn’t dropped any spawn in my unmentionables when it tried to hide from the underside of my slipper.\n\nWith a groan, I lifted the drawer and put it back into place. I put my hands on my sore back, massaging where it hurt the most. I was just about to find the light switch when I saw it. A new Thing.\n\nThe closet door was ajar. One gray horn was sticking out under the doorknob, as well as a cloven hoof on my ugly carpet. The horn poked out a little more and I caught a glance at a beady eye staring at me. The monster froze, then retreated swiftly back into my closet.\n\n“Oh no, you don’t,” I grumbled, darting to the door. “I have had enough of this shit!”\n\nI grabbed the wood and thrust it open, seeing the creature struggling, its horns stuck in the loose-knit cardigan my grandmother had made for me. When it laid eyes on me, the monster started squealing an awful, high-pitched noise. \n\nFor once I was relieved that I lived by myself in the middle of the woods. How the hell would I explain this situation to someone if they came running to help me? Still, the sound was agony on my ears, and I needed to make it stop.\n\n“Quit it!” I hissed.\n\nI knelt down and grabbed the monster by what appeared to be its shoulders. It continued squealing until I shook it hard, then it ceased moving, save for its shallow breathing. Even in the darkness of my closet, I could see that whatever this thing was, it was terrified—way more than I was the first time this started happening.\n\n“I’ll make a deal with you,” I said to the hideous bipedal goat-like thing staring up at me. “I’ll free you, but—”\n\nThe monster started struggling again, trying to squirm its way out of my grasp. It opened the mouth at the end of its snout to squeal, but I shook it even harder.\n\n“*But* you have to take me to wherever the fuck you come from. Do you understand me?”\n\nThe monster nodded, the motion of its horns knocking my sweater off of its hook. The thing before me stood still and allowed me to tug the unraveling yarn from its horn, and when I lifted the cardigan off of its head, the way it stared up at me was almost…cute?\n\nNo. It wasn’t cute. It was vermin. Just like the rest of them.\n\nBehind the monster, I could see a hole in the wallpaper of my closet. That was always there, but it didn’t have that blue glowing vortex behind it in the daytime.\n\nThe creature in front of me followed my eyeline and jabbed one of its horns toward the vortex. It got on all fours and passed through it, disappearing from my sight. With a gulp, I leaned forward onto my hands and crawled after the thing.\n\nI don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t the corporate-looking hallway I found myself in. I got to my feet, the tile floor cold against my bare skin. I turned to see where I had come out of and saw that it been a small metal door, not a hole in wall left by water damage. Up above the door was a nameplate.\n\nWith my name on it.\n\n“…The hell is this?” I muttered to myself.\n\nI wheeled around, remembering the beastie that had shepherded me through. It was standing there, staring at me with its horned head cocked. Then it turned and started walking briskly down the hallway.\n\n“Where are you going?” I asked.\n\nThe monster didn’t reply, so I started to follow it. All the way down the hallway were posters, ones that looked remarkably like the missing persons ones found on lampposts and milk cartons. I couldn’t make out the twisted letters, but I could see the pictures.\n\nThe oozing ghoul from three months ago, the blue puff of smoke I once fanned out of my bathroom window, and the banshee who screamed in my face one cold winter morning, amongst many others I’d encountered since I moved into my house in the woods.\n\n“Hey, what is this place?” I called out to the goat-thing.\n\nThat was when it started running.\n\n“Hey! Come back!” I hollered.\n\nIt had been a long time since I’d run track in high school, and it was showing. I huffed and puffed, my lungs aching as I breathed in the cold air of the hallway. My heart hammered as I followed the monster around a corner and down another empty hall. But as soon as my second wind hit me, I powered through and leapt forward, grabbing the horned creature by its bottom hooves and bringing it squealing to the ground with me.\n\n“What the hell is going on?” I shouted. “Answer me!”\n\nInstead of the goat-thing answering, every single door in the hallway opened but one. Out poured other monsters, all wearing fancy suits and making me feel even more ridiculous in my plaid shorts and old sweatshirt.\n\nI let go of the monster, not watching as it scrambled away and hid behind what looked like a large slug. My eyes were locked on the tall specter staring down at me from behind his smoky glasses.\n\n“Excuse me, miss, but you are disturbing our work,” he said in a hoarse voice.\n\n“Uh, I, um,” I spluttered, rushing clumsily to my feet. My body ached from my fall onto the tiles, but I could put some frozen peas on my bumps when I got back home.\n\n“What is your business here, human?” the ghost interrupted. “Make it quick, we are very busy.”\n\nPeering through his misty body, I could see another nameplate by his door. This one said, GRADY CAULFIELD, CEO.\n\n“M-My apologies,” I stammered. “It’s just that your…*employees*…?”\n\nGrady nodded curtly.\n\n“Um, your employees have been terrorizing me for the past six months and I’m tired of it,” I said breathlessly. “I don’t understand what this business is supposed to be, and frankly, I couldn’t care less.”\n\n“Out with it,” Grady barked.\n\n“Right,” I said, blushing. “Anyway, I was wondering if you could call your people off and leave me alone.”\n\n“You come from the Victorian on Sandy Pond, correct?”\n\n“Yep.”\n\n(continued in reply)"
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[WP] You are a billionaire, bored of a life of wealth and privilege. One day, you throw a big fancy party and fake your death, just to see what happens
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"so how'd you get here\" is probably what your thinking. You see I through this massive open invite party, made a show of it, head several heaps of drugs taller than myself dot around, had elephants roaming around with fireworks launching off their backs. It was wild. And part way through I got bored and wanted to mess with everyone, so at exactly midnight, 0:00 on the 24 hour clock, on april 1st, I facked an overdose. Aperantly they noticed,after I past out cuz I was messed up, decide to shove me in a box and dumbed me in a hole. I woke up when to felt liquid around me. The jerks all pissed on my grave. So I was drowned In a pool of other people's urine. And now I haunt this place and everyone involved have cancer, not because of me but hey they killed me.",
"I had set up a plan for everything.\nI suppose I'd like to have an elaborate and complicated death, so I thought about it and decided on disappearing during the indoor light show, leaving some blood behind.\n\nI had sent out the invitations to come this night and I set up the indoor light show, The place was big enough to house a whole parade so it wasn't too cramped.\n\nAll of my guests had arrived, I donned my formal wear and welcomed each and every one of my guests.\n\nAfter dinner, and dessert, I had called on the indoor light show, I stood on the balcony, waiting when everyone would focus on the mesmerising lights\n\nI took out my pocket knife, cut my wrist, and screamed a bit, before running away.\n\nI had make sure to cover my tracks,so I went through the secret passageway I built for fun.\n\nI could hear the dismay of the people noticing I had went missing, I peeped through the paintings and I can see them panic, it's only a matter of time before they call the local authorities.\n\nI needed to bandage my wrist, I always had a small aid kit just in case, I took out the aid kit and quickly bandaged my wrist, I should probably make sure that no soul could recognise me.\n\nI took out the scissors and cut my hair... Goodbye, luscious long hair, I thought about making it a more.. medium length but it seems like it was just too \"me\" so decided to just cut it short... and messy. I wasn't too good at cutting hair.\n\nI took out my pocket watch (because it's fancy) and checked the time, 10:35, I also looked in the mirror on the cover of it, oh wow I look terrible. perhaps I should have made it medium\n\nOh well, at least I look like a normal young man. \n\nPoppycock! I still had my formal wear, where can I change on such short notice? In the secret passageway I suppose.\n\nI put a closet here somewhere, I was bound to find it eventually.\n\nI walked in the secret passageway until I find the closet, it was filled with a variety of clothes but I picked a plain white shirt, black pants and a denim jacket.\n\nI needed some extra money just incase so I got my extra wallet (which was empty) and put in... £8,400 euros, it's just incase.\n\nThen I fled my home, I went into the nearby city and rented a Hotel room close to my house, it was £25 per night so it wasn't too expensive.\n\nI wrote a note pretending to be me but I was kidnapped and forced to write it, the contents are, the assassin/kidnapper was gonna kill me no matter what, and I'll leave my relatives to decide how to split my fortune, and to seal the deal I singed it with some blood.\n\nI waited a week or two then decided to check on my home, I went back to my house through the secret passageways and spied on the lobby room (where I initially held the social gathering/party)\n\nI saw my sister, my brother in-law, my adopted child, my mother and my step dad.\n\n\"We should split Alister's fortune equally.\" Said my mother with her oh so expressionless face\n\n\"But mother! You know how hard it is for me and *Jasper! We are going through a tough time so could you please just give us a bit more than everyone else?\" Said my sister\n*Jasper, my brother in-law/sister's husband\n\n\"Alexandra, we should split the fortune equally, Alister has always given us things equally\" said my mother\n\n\"Dad might not be dead though...\" My child, Hina said quietly\n\n\"Hina isn't even related to us by blood! Why do we have to give them some of the fortune?!\" My sister said angrily\n\n\"Hina just lost their dad, and I have just lost my son, even if they aren't related to us by blood they're still family.\" Said my step dad, looking a bit angered\n\nI felt bad about leaving everyone behind, I started wondering why did I fake my death.\n\nHina turned 180 degrees, facing the wall with the painting I have been spying through, could they have known I was there? Perhaps, Hina turned back to the rest of my family\n\n\"Still, why do I have to take her in? I don't even like her!\" Said my sister\n\n\"Pronouns, use the proper pronouns.\" Hina said\n\nFor some reason my brother in-law just stayed silent in this whole debate, but whatever he always stays silent\n\n\"Family is family, dear.\" Said my mother\n\n\"Ugh!\" My sister scoffed \"Let's go, Jasper\" she said as she dragged my brother in-law out the room\n\nHina sadly turned their back on my parents, facing the wall that I was in\n\n\"She probably means that, but don't let it get to you.\" My mother says as he puts a hand on Gina's shoulder\n\nI honestly felt bad about it, I'll try to come back soon..."
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[WP] In a world where liches, the undead ghosts, and the like have become a normality over the years, a legal battle erupts over whether the “post-dead” can keep their owned properties like land, titles, deeds, stocks, et cetera.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The bar was called the Smoking Barrel, and its clientele was a mix of the post-dead rabble. A popular haunt, some of them said, still smiling at a joke that had been worn out decades before. \n\nThere, at the bar - two men talking in low, aggravated voices. Two liches, dressed in the uniforms of the Undead Correctional Effort, somehow drinking beers - the glass raised to the lipless mouths and the beer inside simply vanished. \n\n\"This is what you get,\" one of them said. His badge said his name was Marcus Aurelius. Anger and alcohol warped his Boston accent. \"Spend all day shipping the fuckin' zombies to rehab centers, and they get a nice house with clothes and decent food. Me? I live in a shitty apartment on fuckin' scraps for a salary. How is it that the people I'm supposed to be in charge of have more rights then I do?\"\n\nThe second lich shook his head morosely. His name was Joshua Credeins, and he was twice divorced. \"Zombies look more human then we do,\" he said sadly. \"That's why the government cares so much.\"\n\n\"Can a zombie hold a job? Can a zombie create? Can a zombie dream, think, be? I think not, my friend.\"\n\n\"Some can,\" Credeins said with a shrug. \"I've seen 'em.\"\n\n\"Yeah, yeah, the fuckin' prodigies. Whoop-dee-doo. The ones therapy actually works on.\"\n\nCredeins said nothing. His friend's rather racist rants against zombies made him uncomfortable. Sure, there were a few zombies that counseling and vaccination couldn't help, but he'd met a few of them in his time in the UCE, and a good amount of them were decent people.\n\n\"We shouldn't fight amongst ourselves,\" he finally said to Aurelius. \"We both have a similar cause - humans don't consider us or them to be equals.\"\n\n\"Fuck the living government,\" Aurelius said. They drank to that. \n\nOver there, in a booth. A ghost and a zombie (thankfully out of earshot of the two men at the bar). The ghost, naturally, ate nothing. The zombie devoured the platter of brisket before her. \n\n\"I had a nice house, before I died,\" the ghost said mournfully. Her eyes, completely black, dribbled dark liquid. \"Two car garage, big kitchen, the works. You know?\"\n\nAshley nodded in assent, sucking a bit of sauce off her finger. Mary-Ann sighed sadly, looking distantly at the walls. \"And then some fuck hits me with his car, and I die. And now, the insurance company is denying my claim to the house. Saying I can't legally own property if I'm not alive.\" The tears came faster, and the lights flickered. \n\nAshley sighed and leaned back, her bones crackling. The vaccinations helped to keep her from outright decaying, but her body was still sore. \"You should come live with me,\" she offered. \"The UCE gives me a nice pension and a little house out in Charlestown. Might be nice to have a roommate.\"\n\n\"That's sweet of you,\" Mary-Ann said, managing a fleeting smile. \"Perhaps. But I want my home back. I hear now it's owned by some horrible woman with three children.\" \n\nThe zombie only nodded, gritting her teeth. \"It's shit.\"\n\n\"Shit indeed,\" the ghost said, twisting her head all the way around. \"Shit indeed.\"\n\nThe door to the Smoking Barrel burst open, and in walked the Grim Reaper. That was his official title, anyways. His friends called him Zachary, and everyone here was his friend. \n\n\"Zachy!\" the bartender said, grinning at him. Something that wasn't a tongue moved behind his teeth. \"You're here early.\"\n\n\"Got off work early,\" Zachary said, smiling and sitting down at the bar. He nodded at the two liches, who waved at him. \"What's the stories tonight?\"\n\nThe bartender tore off his ear, shook it, and stuck it back on. \"Usual discontent. Heard Congress is filibustering our voting rights bill.\"\n\n\"Bull-fucking-shit.\"\n\n\"Nope. Over my own grave.\" He pushed a newspaper - the headlines read **CONTROVERSIAL VOTING RIGHTS BILL DELAYED.**\n\nZach grunted angrily, scanning it. Then he stood up. The conversation around the bar stopped.\n\n\"Everyone,\" he said. \"I hear that Congress is delaying our voting rights bill, again.\"\n\n\"You fucking kidding me?\" a vampire called from the back of the room.\n\n\"Unfortunately, Vlad, I'm not.\" He held up the newspaper, showing everyone the incriminating black lettering. \"You all know what this means, don't you?\"\n\n\"Means Congress is going to shove us back into our corner,\" Aurelius said. There was a murmur of assent.\n\n\"That's right,\" Zachary said, nodding. \"Do you think we should let them? Let them trample over us? Some of us in this room were alive long before the members of Congress.\"\n\n\"Wouldn't know that, to look at Mitch McConnell,\" somebody said. \n\nThe Reaper smiled, putting his hands into his pockets. \"My point is, everyone, that unless we stand up for ourselves - really stand up, really fight, really contest these sons-of-bitches, we'll end up back here next year. Sitting in a bar, drinking beer, complaining about our lives.\"\n\n\"But - there's nothing we can do!\" Mary-Ann said. \"Nobody will listen to us!\"\n\nZachary smiled - a smile as cold and dry as a snowless winter day. \"Not unless we make them listen.\""
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[WP] A story where you tell us the main character dies at the end but then proceed to still surprise the reader with that characters death.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Tonight is the day I day.\n\nWith every bang on the door they get closer and closer to knocking it down.\n\nI tried everything I could.\n\nAbout fifteen locks were on the door. And this wasn't the first door you had to get to to get in.\n\nThe... Creatures, were strong, powerful. I was a proper through and through and I only survived this long due to that.\n\nBut as people grew less common, and the beasts grew more common it became harder. It was real hard when I saw my brother Daniel die to them.\n\nAnd I could still hear his screams.\n\nOn the other side of the door.\n\nThe door was buckling under the weight of the beasts.\n\n\"It's me Daniel, I just want to talk!\" Not my brother... How could they do this to me..\n\nThe door slammed open with a loud bang.\n\nAnd my heart stopped.\n\nAnd it didn't start back up.\n\n...\n\n15 years ago\n\n\n\"Sister you know you gotta take your medication or else your heart might give out\"\n\n\"But Danny it tastes yucky!\" I stuck my tongue out at Danny.\n\n\"It may taste yucky but if you don't take it your heart might stop beating..\" Danny looked sad... He loved me, and I loved him.\n\n\"I'll take the yucky medicine then, if it means it makes you happy Danny!\"\n\n\"That's my girl\" Danny hugged me. We'll be together forever!",
"*In which Ambrose dies*\n\nAmbrose was a great leader, he lead his army to destroy the tyrannical Wyvern Kingdom, and did good deeds for his people. But all good things must come to an end, for the remaining kingdoms lied to their subjects, they sent innocent warriors to kill him, they even forced the Oracles to prophesize Ambrose’s death. Until a young hero by the name of Ernest joined him, and for years they ruled peacefully. \n\nAnd Ambrose was bedridden with an unknown disease, he asked his trusted friend to finally end it, to fulfill the long-awaited prophecy, to slay the evil villain. And that Ernest did. \n\nAuthor’s note: a broader look on things for another prompt i did",
"Jessica died today. \n\nPerhaps not the ideal place to begin a story, but I thought it only fair to prepare you now. Don’t be alarmed when it happens, don’t fail to turn the page. She dies today wether you read it or not, better then to finish the story lest she die in vain.\n\nIt was a crisp autumn morning, a chill bit at her nose as she jogged down the busy main road. Her phone jostled in her pocket with every footfall, music traveling the length of her headphones to play softly in her ear.\n\nWith an ease that comes only with time she deftly wove herself around the pedestrian traffic, careful to avoid the busybodies on their way to dead end jobs. It was down to a routine now, leaving her on autopilot as she maneuvered.\n\nSo lost in thought was Jessica that she hadn’t time to realize the intersection she quickly approached was warning her not to cross. The little red man flashed angrily at her, but the athletic woman paid no heed to its stern beeps.\n\nShe made it one, two, three steps out into the empty crosswalk.\n\nThe oncoming bus did everything it could to avoid Jessica, and so it veered into the lane beside it and barreled past the startled woman. \n\nA few angry shouts and some unhappy horns later, the mildly embarrassed jogger stood back on the sidewalk, patiently waiting for the little red man to grant her safe passage. If the ground had opened up and swallowed her whole, Jessica thinks that would be quite alright.\n\nAnd that’s how Jessica died. Well, died of embarrassment. Suppose I should have mentioned I can be a bit melodramatic.",
"Michael died today.\n\nIt was a crisp autumn morning as Michael entered the headquarters of a major cereal brand, art portfolio clutched protectively under one arm. He was pleasantly surprised when the security guard said,\n\n\"Michael Lombard? I recognize you, you're good to go.\"\n\n\"No forms to fill out?\" That was a first in his experience.\n\nThe guard handed over a visitor's badge with a shrug, along with some neatly hand-written directions. Michael remembered little about the elevator ride or the walk down a long corridor to reach the conference room, but for the first time in his experience, he felt optimistic, rather than cripplingly nervous. He took position at the front of the room and booted up the projector. People in suits trickled in over the next ten minutes, and right on the dot of nine, he began.\n\n\"You are looking for a mascot and box art for your new rice-based products. The slideshow has the larger form version you'll see in commercials, while these mock-ups,\" he started passing around sheets from his portfolio, \"are real-sized models of the front of a cereal box.\"\n\nThe presentation took half an hour, as Michael led the executives through every version he'd imagine for the mascot they'd named the Rice Pirate. To his surprise and delight, the questions they had were directed at each other, over which to pick, rather than at him to defend his artistic choices. He left without his portfolio, and with a cheque, two business cards and firm instructions to contact them again in a week for more work to replace it.\n\nThe drive back home was a blur. Michael splurged and bought take out from a decent restaurant he passed. His dog Zigzag greeted him enthusiastically as he manoeuvred his way through the apartment door, and he had to resort to putting the take out on top of the refrigerator to protect it while he got Zigzag set up with her food and gave her some petting to calm her down. After they both ate, she flopped on the couch beside him for scratching as he flicked through the channels to find something good. He wasn't sure why he picked the channel he did, but he settled back to watch what looked like an unfamiliar news show.\n\nThe angel watching him invisibly nodded to her partner.\n\n\"He seems to be adjusting to his corner of heaven well. I'm glad for the dog's sake she didn't have to wait for him any longer.\"",
"How does Death die?\n\nHe wonders. He wanders.\n\nThe mortal realm reveals few answers. For they were mortal--living--and then they died. Death did some work while he was here. He was searching for something else, but that did not mean that he could not do his job.\n\nFor all its faults, Death thought, the mortal realm was not a bad place to be. It was much too loud, usually. But sometimes, there were quiet pockets in fields or under trees, where Death laid for just a while. He couldn't stay for too long, see, or the living tree eventually shook and groan, shaking all its leaves off and groaning its displeasure at Death himself.\n\nSo once in a while. But it worked for Death. It made him a little happy. Enough to not think about dying.\n\nWhy does Death want to die?\n\nHe doesn't know. Fatigue, maybe. Boredom, perhaps.\n\nAfter all, he resides after the end line. And yet, he never gets to pass it. Doesn't know what it feels like. Wil never know.\n\nAnd so he paces up and down. His bony fingers writhe together, his head churning with gears and thoughts that feel uncomfortably like pinballs of pain flinging themselves around his skull. Death felt that he could almost hear them clinging and clanging about. But he continued to think, for he knew he was eternal. Pain meant little to him.\n\nWho does Death seek out to die?\n\nDeath found himself on the doorstep of Life. He didn't even knock on her door before it swung open.\n\n\"Death,\" said Life.\n\n\"Life,\" said Death.\n\n\"What are you doing here, Death?\" Life said kindly.\n\nThere was no animosity between the two. They were opposites, surely, but they both led to one another.\n\n\"I want to die,\" Death said.\n\n\"That's strange,\" Life cocked her head slightly. \"I'm not sure how I can help you.\"\n\nDeath tapped his fingers together. They rattled.\n\n\"Maybe you know more. People like Life more then Death. Maybe there are secrets. To extend their Life, and not go to Death.\"\n\n\"Hmm,\" Life glowed. \"Maybe. Maybe, there's a way. Would you like to try it?\"\n\n\"What could go wrong?\" Death nodded.\n\nLife touched Death, then. \n\n\"Do you feel like you are dying, Death?\" Life said. A bead of sweat rolled down her strained face. \n\n\"I feel like I am living,\" Death replied.\n\n\"Phew,\" Life released her hold on the Reaper, then. \"That's good. How did it feel?\"\n\n\"Not great, honestly,\" Death said. \"A lot of pain. A lot of... feelings.\"\n\n\"Yes. It was a brief life. But now you are dead, once more,\" Life said.\n\nDeath thought. He nodded. She was right.\n\n\"You are right,\" Death said. \"I am dead.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" Life smiled. She was still sweating. \n\n\"Thank you very much, Life,\" Death said. He started to turn away from Life, but he paused. He looked towards Life, head tilted to one side.\n\n\"What does this mean?\" Death asked. \"For us?\"\n\n\"Come to me whenever you need to,\" Life smiled. \"Sometimes, a little Death is a good reminder that Life is worth living.\"\n\n---\n\nr/dexdrafts"
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[WP] The beings stared in horror. They were immortal. Invincible. But one of their own was no longer moving. The glow was gone from its eyes. But more horrifying was the black cloaked, ethereal figure that had entered their midst. "Ah, hello," it said, "I assume you all are new to this death thing?"
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The being standing before them was one many of the lesser gods thought they would never see, the Elder god of death. pristine black robes gilded with gold that draped around a powerful serpent's tail with indescribable patterns, the face, completely alien with the one vertical eye that never closed. From his bone-white head, two large rams horns sprouted and curled about where his ears would have been. In two of his three powerfully muscled arms he held a large heavy scythe, and in his third hand, he held a large lantern, a tool to guide the souls of the dead. Although his visage was one to drive a mere mortal to the point of insanity. Somehow an aura of peace and kindness radiated from him. As well as one of sadness. \n\n\"Impossible....\" breathed one of the lesser gods. \"We are... We are immortals!\"\n\n\"Well, not quite,\" spoke Cer-Sherad, Elder god of Death. \"Yes, you are still gods, even if your power pales in comparison to that of us Elder Gods, but even in your immortality, you are still vulnerable. I assume you have heard of god slayers? The elusive small group fielded by the council of twelve when they can't spare a Judicum to balance the scale of the universe? They are a weapon against you, even myself could be killed by one. Although it would likely be a long and hard battle.\" Cer-Sherad sighed.\n\n\"But this poor young god. What was their name?\"\n\n\"Cherith, lesser god of the winter sky.\"\n\n\"Cherith, has no followers to pray her name. Until she does, she will be as she is now. A lifeless husk of herself. A lesser god's life depends completely on their followers, unlike an Elder god or Angelic you cannot exist on your own. You depend on the faith of your followers. The last of Cheriths priests just died, in fact, their souls are waiting here.\" he nodded his head towards the large lantern held in his third hand, where four souls, all elven, were slowly twisting and dancing around the yellow flame burning within. \n\nCer-Sherad sighed dipped his large scythe down towards the crown of Cherith's head, her body vanished and her soul, far brighter and more vibrant than the others, drifted up to orbit around the light. Cer-Sherad bowed his head \"She will be in a good place until she is remembered.\" With that, he turned and less slithered and more glided towards the door, only his tail tip barely touching the floor. As he left the large room the rest of the lesser gods sat in silence as they pondered this horrible new reality the Elder god had presented them with.\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\n​\n\nCer-Sherad appeared in the great domed center of his brother's library. A large desk littered with books, scrolls, and tablets of many different materials stood in the middle of the room. He floated there for a moment, appreciating the scale of the library, and staring out the great glass dome into the beautiful void beyond. \n\n\"Cer-Sherad! So good to see you again!\" spoke a beautiful voice, calm and elated at the same time. \n\n\"Kuu, it is an honor to see you again as well. Once again I would like to apologize for sealing you in the rift.\"\n\n\"It has been forgiven.\" Laughed Kuu, \"Is there anything I can get you?\"\n\n\"Yes actually, do you know where your husband is?\"\n\n\"Azgoroth?\"\n\n\"Yes. I need to see him.\"\n\n\"I belive he's reviewing his tomes on how to manually activate the primordial form. He belives it could be a valuable weapon for the Elder gods when the hell king comes knocking.\"\n\n\"It would indeed, but this matter is pressing.\" \n\n\"I shall retrieve him, an honor as always Cer-Sherad.\"\n\n\"Likewise.\"\n\nKuu vanished and only moments later, Azgoroth, the Elder god of Time appeared. His appearance was even more eldritch than his brothers, the skull of a deer adorned with two massive antlers, his eyes held the entirety of the cosmos within him. the torso of a man with the tail of a snake in place of legs, a common thing amongst the elder gods. A halo of black flame hovered behind his head. When he spoke his voice was old and wise. \n\n\"Cer-Sherad, Kuu said you had a matter of urgency?\"\n\n\"The great purging has begun.\" gravely spoke Cer-Sherad. \"The first lesser god was the god of the winter sky.\"\n\n\"I suppose you gave them the regular explanation instead of the truth?\"\n\n\"It was only kind to.\"\n\nAzgoroth sighed. \"Indeed. Darioth!\" \n\nAn orb of green fire appeared \"Here my lord.\"\n\n\"Prepare a new tome, the second Great Purging of the gods has begun.\"",
"\"Before we get started... before *I* get started... what year is it?\"\n\nThe once human beings stared at her, unable to comprehend what, in fact, the *fuck* just happened. A human killed one of The Many? There was no way that was possible! They didn't even have magic anymore, let alone enough gall to face insurmountably skewed odds. It hadn't even been two hundred years since The Void Walker was slain and even now the only humans that remain have all huddled under the protection of Hecatian walls. The world may not have magic, but somehow those walls remained impenetrable. Their collective thoughts were interrupted as she raised her arm and turned her palm downward. A spark of electricity jumped from the palm of her hand, instantaneously extending itself into a spear. had it been full electricity they might have stood a chance; minor elemental magic held no threat to The Many, but this...\n\n\"Someone summoned me,\" she continued, interrupting their collective thoughts, \"and I've been waiting for Goddess knows how long to get back. Seems they took their sweet *fucking* time. Goddess be damned, I suppose, since I am all that remains.\"\n\nHer eye exploded with blue light and her long locks, from root to end slowly began to turn a stark white... the kind of color only whispered about by the eldest of humans. Her spear blackened and the electricity converged on the blade, bursting from its containment. It crept along a predetermined path until its length and ferocity was solidified into a massive scythe. She lowered her stance as The Many began to scream and roar in angered disbelief. All of The Deities were supposed to be dead! They could not exist, *should not exist*!\n\nThe sound of hundreds of thousands of feet thundering towards her was little more than the sound of a buzzing fly. She tightened her grasp on the shaft and her control over electricity was heightened. She cut a path forward with it, its heat growing so intense that plasma dripped to the ground and stained the Earth. She rocketed forward using the heat of her Source to cut the air and exponentially increase her speed. This plot of land on the Earth groaned beneath the weight of her incomprehensible power. At the gates of Hecatia, atop the walkways overlooking the plains, stood the hundreds of humans that remained. All of them watch with unfiltered pride as The Silver Witch killed The Many with monstrous blows that shook the balance of the universe. Should she destroy the world killing those detestable creatures, it would be a far greater mercy than allowing others to be hollowed out. Thunder clouds began to roll in from the horizon beyond, their sound and fury shaking the stone of Hecatia.",
"\"Sorry about this. You seemed to have flown under the radar. I need to consult my records. Just a sec.\"\n\nThe black robed figure exploded into dark smoke. The J'Lutuus stood in a circle, with Xhuul, their leader, kneeling besides their fallen sibling. \n\n**BANG.** The robed demon exploded back into being. He was carrying a scroll of paper. \"Sorry again, I just found the records of your entire planet behind my desk. Must've dropped it. Hmmm...\" He studied the sheet. \"Oh, man, I have some time to make up.\" He waved his arm, and a scythe materialized in it. He began to hover and shot towards the main body of the colony. The five J'Lutuu looked on in horror as the screams rang out.\n\nDeath didn't feel any sorrow or sympathy as he casually floated up to the eighteen thousandth J'Lutuu on his list. Why would he? This was his job. Life was sacred and beautiful, but in excess, it was a leech. The target aimed his plasma ray at Death and fired. The beam passed straight through. Attempts to kill Death usually didn't pan out. Death raised his scythe and swung. Two hundred meters away, the scaly, reptilian/evian biped dropped. Death waved a finger. Deep within his scroll, a line appeared, striking out the line \"X'jeem A'Xhatta, Aged 15,332 Cycles of Sol.\" That was around fifteen thousand, two hundred years more than these creatures were ever meant to live.",
"The Ceaseless warped and twisted, startled and frightened. One of them stood before them blank-faced, one that was once a figure of innumerable eyes that shifted and swallowed and spilt atoms with a blink, became now a statue of a thousand dead mirrors that stared silently in frozen horror at the End. Wearing a cloak of impossible yet present nothing, its self steps forward toward the cowering once Ceaseless and spoke. “Ah, hello” it said, a voice larger than the largest among them. “I assume you all are new to this death thing?”\nThe beings, now pushed against a wall of infinite space, responded in an unification of hushed and hurried tones.\n\n“What... are... you?”\n\nThe End smiled, happy that there was finally something that could speak back to its self. It grew quiet as it remembered the name it was given to describe something so indescribable yet possible\n\n“This”, it spoke while gesturing toward its self, “is what the others called the Apocalypse, Judgment Day, Rot, Crunch.\n\nLifting its cloak, the face now of the innumerable eyes of the first Ceased spoke again for the last time to the now Dead before its self\n\n“But you all will be unknown as Nevermore, forgotten and fallen”\n\nThe End began, the eyes blinked, the Dead shrieked, and they were Nevermore.",
"When the three celestials descended upon this world, they were overjoyed. Overjoyed to see their creation rise and flourish. They saw art, they saw emotions. Beauty was everywhere, the morals and the innate capacity to do good were inexplicable to even these gods and goddesses.\n\nThey were content to simply admire and learn, humble beings as they were. The ingenuity of the humans was unparallel, they awaited the far-off day when humanity would eventually rise up to stand by their side. Not as subservient, but as equals.\n\nHumans were after all, ambitious beyond compare.\n\nThey first came to the Watcher of the Oceans. She was delighted! An opportunity to share knowledge about herself. Why, she would never give this away! A golden opportunity to further guide these beautiful people?\n\nHer resources were invaluable in creating the grand library of Itlen, rumoured to have a record of everything in existence.\n\nThe scenery was beautiful in itself. The palace of crystal, made by loyal humans for their patron goddess. Perfect in shape, a culmination of knowledge surpassing anything in existence under its bright and tall walls, ironically open to anyone in pursuit of knowledge.\n\nYet it was here that the goddess fell, surrounded by the bodies of thousands of her loyal believers. None of which were armed. For what does a pure being know, of treachery? Of deceit and false promises? Of suspecting an army to make a cursed weapon? One cruel enough to break her heart?\n\nThe temple of the Earth was magnificent in its own right. The Protector of the Wild had taken the mission on him to ensure that a human would never suppress another, be it an animal or a plant. Showing humans the way of cultivation so that none would ever go hungry, even without the aid of any celestial in the future.\n\nFor this would be a less noticeable yet highly important step in their ascendance. They would learn lessons, of sacrifice and integrity.\n\nOf wisdom to plant crops and clear fields and resolve to grow forests which their generation would never bear the fruit of.\n\nOf caution to sense that something unnatural happened. Just like a house would feel, when one of its three beams break.\n\nPerhaps his followers were the readiest, sharpening their weapons and saving their stores. It just made things bloodier. He fell with astonishment, that such an unholy weapon would be the cause of his defeat. Yet he had already commanded, nay- *requested* a loyal group to warn the last sibling. And warn they did.\n\nThe Wanderer of the World had no temple or fortress. He had but a moving mountain to his name. Already fearing the worst, his fears were confirmed by the loyal regiment. Being the youngest of The Three, he was the most susceptible to emotions. His followers were shocked. They expected him to show anger or revenge. An emotion unworthy of a celestial. Possibly something even darker.\n\nYet all he did was stand in grief. His tears ran for time unknown, until those loyal couldn't bear to see such suffering on their beloved. When he came to, his eyes looked.. hollow.\n\nWithout a word, he raised his arms. Before any cruel army could reach, they were all whisked away to a different world.\n\n​\n\n\\###################################################################\n\n\"Ah, Good morning everyone! We are pleased to announce our latest breakthrough for creating customizable planet civilisations. Now, not only can your kid make a world evolve a billion times fast, but they will also be able to create *any* history stories which the population will believe! Buy a RecordT globe and get two mini-planets free!\"",
"His black robes swayed as he glided, circling the three angels. Watching the black mist left in his wake, soon a thick fog began to materialize. The entity's heavy breathing became all the more apparent as he slithered closer, inch by inch constricting until the three angel's backs were pinned against each other.\n\n\"Perhaps you are mistaken.\" A quiet squeak quibbles. \"We have no qualms with the realm of death.\" \n\n\"Long have we submitted\", the creature snarled, pausing to look at it's prey. \"The heavens have incurred deaths wrath, and we demand payment in blood.\"\n\nThe creature striked fast, and the first angel could barely let out a whimper before the dark tendril coiled around it, crushing her in a matter of seconds, the warm light of her wings snuffed out by the pressing dark.\n\nThe other two flew high, hoping for some respite from their obscured vision. But the black mist reached far, and they shot their bows into the darkness below in blind desperation. As each glowing arrow faded into nothing, it only served to make fighting the shadows feel even more hopeless. The cloud of black contorted and twisted, and the faint sound of soft bones crunching were quickly drowned out by the dissipating of the twister, melting into warm light once again. The king was seated upon his throne, the horrors that just unfolded in his gilded halls causing his servants to rush around in mania and panic.\n\n\"We're all going to die!\" One clothesmaid screamed dramatically as she practically tumbled down the stairs, fracturing her bones in the process. Others ripped down the banners lined with gold silk, hoping that in chaos morality would matter not, hoarding the riches they could.\nThe few that remained shook at the King's feet, his towering presence bringing them misguided comfort that he could right the wrongs. They thought their prayers answered, and as quickly the storm took the lives of three innocent angels, the three appeared in a bright flash, unharmed but understandably shaken. The angels grovelled at the King's feet, praising him and urging he mount a retaliation against death for such transgressions. It didn't occur to them he'd never before been able to bring back those from the dead. It didn't matter, all would be well as always in the realm of heaven, as the king reigned.\n\nYet had they the courage to meet his eye, they might have noticed a rather odd expression of disappointment...",
"They didn't even see what happened. One moment Asiyah had been laughing along with the others. The next, she was collapsed on the floor, the faint glow of her skin fading and her eyes turning black. A pool of yellow liquid grew beneath her, flowing from the cut in her neck.\n\nFor the gathered Heavenly Beings who could tear their eyes away from this... *violation* of reality, the sight that greeted them was almost worse. A young looking man, fairly tall, blonde, with pale skin that almost clashed with the black coat he was wearing. The expression on his face was that of vague disappointment.\n\nIt felt like an eternity passed in silence as Asiyah bled on the floor.\n\n\"How...?\"\n\nNo one knew who broke the suffocating quiet. And all the stranger did was sigh in response.\n\n\"That *is* disappointing.\" He mused, staring at the now-cold body. His low, whispery voice was deep, rough, worn even. He lifted up one hand. Between his fingers, a stream of black vapour slid into existence before condensing into an object.\n\nNo one made a move. It was as if he had struck them all down in one fell swoop, rather than just *murder* Asiyah. Even as the object he summoned was revealed to be nothing more than a long, rather ornate looking smoking pipe, no one could bring themselves to move as he took a drag.\n\n\"I assume this is your first brush with death?\" he asked, red smoke coming forth from his lips.\n\n\"Monster.\"\n\nHe looked up just in time to see Briah fly towards him, metal wings outstretched, ready to cleave him in two. As the room's hearts and spirits lifted, so did his foot. And as it came crashing down, mulching Briah's head like it was just some fruit, so did those lifted hearts and spirits.\n\n\"Indeed, I am a monster.\" He continued. \"Yet why should you condemn me as one? We're practically the same. Look.\"\n\nThe room did look, and the only ones to turn away were the ones that couldn't help but to throw up.\n\nBriah... her skin was turning black and...\n\n\"We're the same!\" He repeated, even as Briah's body was slowly defiled. \"Do you not devour those weaker than you to claim even greater strength? Is that not how you cheated Death for all these centuries, 'Heavenly Beings'? After all, is that not the purpose of the weak? To provide you the means of ruling forever?\"\n\nHe took a step forward, the only thing left of Briah now being a pair of now-rusting wings.\n\nHer wings were rusting. Her wings couldn't rust, and they were *rusting*.\n\nSomeone screamed from the crowd, \"What do you want?!\"\n\nHe didn't stop. Another stream of vapour came into his free hand, the handle of a long polearm, even as he said \"Something which has been denied. I gave out my Silence, and now I take it's Price.\"\n\nManifesting at the head of the weapon was a large, curved blade.\n\n\"You, who are drenched in Sin; contain me within your sight, or rise and face me. I will claim my due all the same.\n\n\"You shall all meet again as Stars.\"",
"*Death* saw the entitlement drain from the beings' face like a Karen who finally got a manager and the manager gives no shits. \n\n\"But, but but...\" blubbered one the being beings that stood before death. \n\n**You have been lead to believe you are immortal?** said *Death*.\n\n *Death's* voice was reminiscent of an old forgotten, but once very powerful, God's teeth grinding in its sleep. Oh, you haven't heard that sound before? Um, how about 2 very angry and slightly drunk tectonic plates that hate each other and dispute their boundaries by crashing repeatedly into each other forming whole Mountain ranges?\n\n\"We are immortal?\" the beings questioned desperately as they looked at each other in their slowly dimming eyes. There was a moment when the eyes pulsed slightly brighter and as one and they attacked the dark mysterious figure. They swarmed the figure like light getting sucked into a black hole... surely you get that analogy right? Ok, good. \n\nAn entire planet of immortal beings swarmed *Death*. Oh right, \"An entire planet of immortal beings swarmed *Death* minus the one that had already died summoning *Death* in the first place. \n\n*Death* allowed this to go on for about a second. No, *Death* doesn't experience time like mortals, not even supposed Immortals. That being said I suppose the closest thing you might imagine that one second for *Death* seems like the [Pitch Drop Experiment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_drop_experiment) if the pitch drop experiment was measured on a logarithmic scale where... oh fuck it imagine the longest time you can imagine. Now multiple it by infinity. \n\nSo after a Second of Death Standard Time *Death* spoke. The alleged Immortals that had touched a demi-god were ejected from his presence like a... Oh fuck it you wouldn't understand the reality of it... um, Volcano. Such an understatement. \n\nThe tectonic plates ground together... oh right... *Death* pronounced judgement. (you have judges right?) \n\n**You were powerful even back then by conventional standards. I was tasked with your destruction to save creation. Your ancestors brokered a deal** *Death* informed them. **You would have destroyed the Universe before it was time for me to reap it. Even one such as me has a master and you were given a corner of space and time away to... evolve. The one rule was that you must not kill each other. It was a bargain that was known you would not be able to keep. You have started a war that has killed your own. I have come to collect the bill. It will be as if you never where.**\n\nSomewhere in a place in space a vacuum made the sound of a star going supernova as *Death* reaped what was owed to her Master and the Universe or at least what you might comprehend of it reset a little bit.\n\n-*Death*'s Bard Story V of Volume IX",
"# Bargain Bin Superheroes\n\n(Arc 1, Interlude 4: Tamulu)\n\n(Note: Bargain Bin Superheroes is episodic; each part is self-contained. This story can be enjoyed without reading the previous sections; however, there are references to other stories which I've linked in the text. For continuity purposes, I gender-swapped the cat to be male.)\n\n**Every citizen of the Unified Sovereignties grew up hearing tales of their literal guardian angels: unkillable terrors with too many wings and eyes that had walked this world for millennia, which now answered only to the Federal Bureau of Homeland Defense.** For nearly a decade, the Angel Corps had formed the backbone of the military. Over the years, their ranks had been augmented by various superhumans and anomalous beings, but all the entities in the Angel Corps had one thing in common. They were peerless avatars of power and destruction.\n\nAnd not all of them were here by choice.\n\nThe newest member of the Angel Corps nervously walked into the room, prodded in the back by a gun. She hated the throbbing in her head—a constant reminder of the explosives and electrodes they'd implanted in her skull in order to keep her in line. But accepting this job was the only way she'd been able to flee the Middle Communes after their collapse...\n\n\"Attention!\" Archcommander Varney snapped. Reflexively, Min Min jolted upright despite the pain in her head; her handler had made it explicitly clear to her that even the slightest sign of disobedience could result in her higher-ups sending a ten-volt charge through her brain's pain centers—or simply detonating the explosives in her head, killing her outright. Nervously, she scanned the room; its occupants scanned her back, although beneath her dark cloak they couldn't make out much. It was a motely assembly—fifteen of them were the balls of wings and eyes that were the Angel Corp's namesake, while the sixteenth was a man with a wild, unhinged grin. She grimaced as she recognized him—he called himself Big Guns. The angels didn't seem to have a method of standing to attention, given their inhuman biology, and Big Guns didn't seem unduly bothered by the Archcommander's orders, so Min Min was the only one who ended up actually obeying the Archcommander.\n\nFive minutes in and she was already the odd one out. This was going to go swimmingly.\n\n\"Fresh meat?\" Big Guns asked, leering at her. \"Don't mind if I do.\"\n\nArchcommander Varney gave him an irritated look and pressed a button in his sleeve; Big Guns seized up, his grin becoming rictus, as the wires they'd implanted directly into his brain overcharged his nerves. Still, when Archcommander Varney lifted his thumb, Big Guns looked little worse for the wear.\n\nMin Min swallowed. This was what she'd signed up for? Perhaps she should've stayed in her hellhole of a failed state.\n\n\"Min Min, here, is a refugee from the Middle Communes. Her inclusion in this program is purely experimental; if this goes well, the Angel Corps may swell its ranks with more such persons in the future.\" Min Min reflexively clenched her jaw; after seeing how the Archcommander treated his troops, she wanted nothing less than the Angel Corps to induct more members. \"Min Min. Would you care to demonstrate your abilities?\"\n\nThe Archcommander gestured at an assistant, and she pulled up a cage, within which slept a small, sickly dog. It whuffled pathetically as it looked up at Min Min.\n\nShe bristled. \"Sir, you—you want me to...\"\n\n\"Demonstrate your abilities,\" the Archcommander repeated, in a harder tone. \"Are there any *questions?*\"\n\nMin Min scowled. She wasn't going to disintegrate some helpless animal just to make a point. \"I—\"\n\n\"Question, Archcommander,\" a voice said.\n\nBoth she and the Archcommander paused, turning towards the source of the voice—one of the angels. The Archcommander hesitated, then grudgingly said, \"...yes, Angel Tamulu?\"\n\n\"You said you were from the Middle Communes?\" Tamulu asked.\n\nMin Min nodded slowly. \"...I was. Before it collapsed.\"\n\nTamulu blinked its eyes one by one. \"Ah. I see. My condolences.\"\n\nShe frowned, confused with the direction the conversation had gone, but willing to entertain it if it meant she could stall for a moment longer. \"Forgive me if I sound rude, but... why do you care?\"\n\nTamulu's wings drooped slightly. \"I... was there, when the Middle Communes fell.\"\n\nA sudden tightness squeezed Min Min's chest. \"Were you,\" she asked, her tone deceptively mild. \"I didn't see you helping defend the civilians, or trying to rebuild broken cities in a burnt-out wasteland.\"\n\nTamulu grimaced. \"I... I was playing for the other team, then.\"\n\nPlaying for the other team. As if the destruction of her home country was nothing but a game. Min Min clenched her fists, and tendrils of darkness swirled around each one, her body becoming ethereal as she channeled the power of death. \"Mm. As I recall, you wanted me to demonstrate my powers?\" She asked Archcommander Varney.\n\nHe nodded towards the dog. \"Please do.\"\n\nMin Min smiled sweetly—then lunged towards Tamulu, thrusting both hands out.\n\nTendrils of pure darkness lashed out faster than a frog's tongue, scything through the angel's immortal flesh like a bullet through the skull of Min Min's daughter. Archcommander Varney jerked back, pointing a remote at her and activating the electrodes in her brain; *agony* screamed through her, as if her entire body had been infested by biting, wriggling worms. She collapsed to the ground, heaving, as the stars began to fade through her eyes, and looked up to see the angel twitching on the ground, its body blackened and twisted by her abilities.",
"Ezekiel was the oldest of us by far. Born about a thousand years after the death of Christ, he’d first lived a life with a wife and children, I knew. He’d told me this when we’d first met centuries ago, calling it a mistake, but one he would make again in those early years if he’d known what was coming. He had not been a wealthy man, and neither had the generations after him, and his line ended within a few hundred years. He only knew that with modern research and he called the fact a blessing.\n\nHe’d called death a blessing once too. He’d occasionally wax poetic about the nature of life and death, and how we were caught between in a perpetual state separate from the rest of mankind. Over the years, I’d seen him grow warmer, just the slightest bit, and only noticeable in retrospect after countless years. That’s what having company did for him, I think, once he’d found others like him.\n\nDeath was no longer a blessing, though. Because I stared it in the face now, literally.\n\nWe stared in horror. We were immortal. Invincible. But one of our own was no longer moving. The glow was gone from his eyes. But more horrifying was the black cloaked, ethereal figure that had entered our midst. “Ah, hello,” it said, “I assume you all are new to this death thing?”\n\nWe’d been in the middle of dinner, Gratiana to my right and Ruvin to my left. And now we were all on our feet, each with a knife in our hand from our cutlery, guided by instinct, but I felt deep in my soul that there was no logic to it. To attack this being would be futile. I wouldn’t have been surprised if my knife slid right through where its heart should be and my arm came out the other side.\n\nBut my gaze went from the being back to Ezekiel, suddenly slumped in the heavy wooden chair. His eyes were staggeringly empty, and the sight brought tears to mine amid the shock that coated my skin in a ripple of goosebumps. I wish I could have said I knew it was a nightmare, but after centuries of dreams of all sorts, I knew how to tell reality from fantasy. Ezekiel was dead.\n\n“Why?” I was the first to find my voice, the word rasping against my throat as I forced my eyes back to the being. “Why him? Why now?”\n\n“In order, because it needed to happen, because he was the eldest, and because of a change in regime.”\n\n“Regime?” Gratiana snapped. “What does that mean?”\n\n“You are all human, you know,” it said, tilting its head ten degrees to the right. It paused as we absorbed that. “I’m sure you’ve wondered over the years what kind of break in your DNA resulted in something so unbelievable, or what you would find if you went to scientists way smarter than you four put together. I have no idea why they just set you up and left you to your own devices. Maybe for entertainment value. But you’re just human. It’s just that you’re…permanent. That’s the best way to explain it to your feeble minds.”\n\nI tried to take offense to the idea that I was in the presence of someone more intelligent than me, considering my hundreds of years of accumulated knowledge. That was the only thing that could keep an immortal mind occupied, learning new things, and all of us perpetually furthered our education. But I found myself believing it when it told us we had feeble minds in comparison to its own.\n\n“Then can you also explain to our feeble minds why my friend is…dead?” Gratiana said, whispering the last word.\n\n“It was his time,” the being explained. “The old regime played with the toys on Earth far too often, and a human reaching the age of one in the Christian bible? Ridiculous.” It shook its head, the half-opaque form it took spreading and evaporating at the edges like smoke from a cigarette at the movement. “No, no, it was past time for a change.”\n\n“And you’re that change?” Ruvin finally spoke.\n\n“Let’s put it this way: Death is dead. Long live Death,” it said with a shadow of a smile. The smile faded. “What good is life if it’s permanent? It has no value, no purpose, no delicacy. You all live your lives knowing tomorrow will come, and what has it got you? A life with no end in sight is like a road with no destination. The journey is important, sure, but you need a destination. Otherwise, you’re above the rest.” Its expression turned severe. “And as I said, you’re only human.”\n\n“Will you be disposing of us next?” I asked curtly.\n\nIt smiled widely at this. “Disposing. Good word choice, that. No. But you’re now just as human as the people you’ll walk by on the street tomorrow. You don’t feel any different, but you slice your hand now, it won’t heal, and you take a bullet in the head now, you *will* die,” it told us matter-of-factly. “And I hate to break it to you, but this is the least of my problems. I have an unreasonably long list to go through in my new position. But there isn’t much more I can do for you all anyway. My job here is done.”\n\nAt that, it did pause to take a final glance around at our faces. “I look forward to learning about the rest of your comparably short lives. And I’ll see you soon. Well. Hopefully not too soon.”\n\nIt vanished in a blur of dissipating smoke, evaporating before our eyes, leaving us in silence. We stood there for a good long while, taking it all in, taking in Ezekiel, taking in what we just learned.\n\n“This happened too fast,” Ruvin muttered, tossing his knife onto the table.\n\nI breathed out a shadow of a laugh. “Says the man centuries old.” I shook my head, moving half a step backwards and falling back into my chair, twirling the knife in my right hand rhythmically. “No, we have nothing to complain about. Absolutely no right to complain, given how long we’ve had.”\n\n“What was that supposed to mean, regime?” Gratiana asked, still holding her knife tightly in her grip.\n\n“God or gods?” I said with a shrug. “We’re measly humans, apparently.” I pursed my lips thoughtfully. “It’s fascinating to finally know that.”\n\n“Can we believe that creature, though?” Gratiana asked.\n\nAt that, I barked out a laugh. “It killed Ezekiel. How exactly would you propose we counter that argument?” She had no reply. We lapsed into silence before I again looked back to Ezekiel. “He called his family a mistake once,” I said quietly. “We’ve lived like ghosts in a world that moves on without us, like we’re fixtures on a wall.” I then glanced up to the only two people remaining in the world that I called friends. “If Ezekiel were still here, he wouldn’t say that he was sentenced to death. And he’d say the three of us were gifted life. A real life.” At that, I stabbed my knife into the wooden table, flicking it with my finger and letting it wobble as I stared at it. “Question is, what will we do with it?”\n\n​\n\n/r/storiesbykaren",
"\"What death thing??\"\n\nThe tired reaper sighed. \"John Greens is no longer alive. He can't talk to you, or stand up, or do anything. His soul is with me.\"\n\n\"Well give it back!\"\n\n\"Oh this is gonna be a long day,\" it muttered under its breath. \"I *can't* give it back.\"\n\n\"Why not?\"\n\n\"That's not what I do. I can't-\"\n\n\"What *do* you do?\"\n\n\"I help souls get to wherever they need to go. Death manages the actual, you know, *death*.\"\n\n\"Who's death?\"\n\n\"I don't know. I've never spoken to it. Never seen it. Not sure you can see it, actually.\"\n\n\"Why not?\"\n\n\"You guys have spoken to gods right?\"\n\n\"All of them.\"\n\n\"Ah, but you haven't. There are a handful of really, really old gods, like Death, who run the world. And nobody's ever seen any of them. We know they're there - Death's my boss. But we don't know anything else, really.\"\n\n\"Wait so you can't speak to them, and you've not seen them do anything. You sure they're not dead?\"\n\n\"death is meaningless to the literal being of Death.\"\n\n\"Alright mate, calm down.\"\n\n\"Fine. Fine. Do you all understand the whole 'being dead' thing now?\"\n\n\"Yeahyeahyeah sure. Um, quick question, when's Death gonna give John's soul back? - I think it's a bit rude of him to take it actually. \"\n\n\". . .\"\n\n\"Is it pretty rude right? I wouldn't just steal a toothbrush from you, you know? This Death guy really shouldn't be taking things that aint his.\"\n\n\"Death doesn't work like that.\"\n\n\"Wh-\"\n\n\"NO. I DON'T KNOW HOW DEATH WORKS.\"\n\n\"Woah calm down mate-\"\n\n\"DEATH TAKES PEOPLE'S SOULS. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT, NONE OF US KNOW. GOT IT?\"\n\n\"How are we s'pposed to 'get it' if nobody knows it?\"\n\n\"JUST 'GET' THAT NOBODY KNOWS, M'KAY?\"\n\n\"Aight mate. Whatever you say.\"\n\n\"Thank you. Now excuse me, I have a soul to guide.\"\n\n\"Wait if you're guiding it, can you not just guide it to us?\"\n\n# \"SHUT UP!!\"\n\nr/Tiz_Purple",
"The black cloak swirled against the cosmic wind. In his hands held the figure a curved knife, and from the blade dripped golden blood – the ichor that flowed through immortals, falling to the ground, sizzling against the hard stone floor.\n\nThe gods stood staring at their fallen kinsman, shockingly, wonderingly, unable to fathom what was happening. They had not had time to react, had never seen anything quite as quick as the figure that struck.\n\nAnd yet… not any of them moved. It was a silent standoff, punctuated by the rasping gurgles of Ares, the god of war, as he lay choking in his own blood, and though none of them mentioned it, they could see his spirit, his soul – they could see it leaving his body, stretching out in the thin air of Mount Olympus as the Fates plucked and played with his string, relishing in the final moments of a dying god.\n\nThe starry sky above them dimmed. Unwillingly, the gods looked up, and there they saw: a great gap between the star-bodies, signalling that order had been turned into chaos. Ares’s last stars flickered like torchlight and, after a few moments, they vanished completely.\n\n“Strange, isn’t it?” said a voice. The gods looked down again.\n\nThe figure was wiping the knife with a cloth. He seemed completely at ease, calm and composed, as though he was just remarking on an observation he had made. When he pulled down his hood, and dared to smile before the Olympians, they finally saw his face: thin and pale, with high cheekbones and a pointed nose. He had no hair; attached to the back of his head was a pipe that travelled and disappeared down his cloak.\n\n“The god of war,” continued the figure, gesturing at Ares, “as you can see, is dead. How utterly *ironic* it is, don’t you think, my friends?”\n\nWhen none of the gods answered, the figure broke into a wide grin and spread his hands.\n\n“Right!” he cried. “You’re all new to this, I keep forgetting. Olympians and their cheap immortality – ridiculous!”\n\nHe laughed, and the gods felt suddenly compelled to join him. His voice was as clear as the rivers that flowed down the mountain, and his laugh was as bright as Apollo’s chariot.\n\n“Of course, I really shouldn’t be talking on the job,” he said. “That leads to introductions, and I’d hate to get attached to any of you as I’m picking you off one by one.”\n\nOne of the gods finally found the courage to speak up.\n\n“You dare talk to us in our own throne room?” he thundered, his royal nostrils flaring in anger. Electricity crackled in his grey beard. “You kill my son in front of me, in front of us all, and find it amusing? I will send you to Hades, child.”\n\nThere was a flash of light, and the throne room rumbled; from the sky, a bolt of energy shot down, into the arms of Zeus, and a moment later he was towering above all the gods, above the assassin, with his lightning bolt pointed and aimed.\n\n“It was a mistake for you to come here,” declared Zeus, his divine form at last revealed, looking as any king of the gods would, regal and mighty. “Move, assassin, and I shall show you the true power of an Olympian.”\n\n“Power is overrated,” said the assassin, and to the gods’ surprise, he smiled wider still. “What matters, my lord Zeus, is wisdom! And true wisdom is, I’m afraid, what you’re severely lacking – maybe it would have helped to ask your daughter Athena. It is knowing when to pick your fights, when to bow. It is knowing when you’ve angered the higher deities, and knowing that you need to pay the price for it.”\n\n“There is no higher deity,” growled Zeus. “There is no one to anger.”\n\nThe assassin looked mockingly around the throne room.\n\n“Have you *seen* how you’ve been running this sect of the universe?” said the assassin. “Squabbles between you and your wife turn into full-blown wars. The mortals plead and pray, and you send them nothing but plagues and your lightning. I’m surprised my higher-ups haven’t sent me down here sooner.”\n\nZeus had heard enough. He bared his teeth and looked down at the small figure, and for a moment, he thought, *this insect will die.* Raising his lightning bolt above his head, he bellowed and moved to throw it. He didn’t get the chance.\n\nA flick of the assassin’s wrist, and suddenly a force rivalling Aelous’s winds rammed into Zeus; there was a flash, and then thunder, and then, suddenly, Zeus's lightning bolt dissipated and died. The king of the gods fell like a marionette whose strings were cut, and the sound he made when he crashed onto his throne could be heard by gods and mortals all throughout the world.\n\nThe assassin sighed and massaged his hands.\n\n“I was hoping I wouldn’t do that,” he said. “Takes all the fun out of the job. Now…”\n\nHe turned his gaze on the rest of the thunderstruck Olympians, who were yelling, staring dumbfoundedly at Zeus’s unmoving corpse.\n\nThe assassin brandished his knife. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his speeding heart. The prospect of killing gods excited him.\n\n“I haven’t had a good fight in ages,” said the assassin, smiling. “Don’t disappoint me, Olympians.”\n\nThe stars above the mountain dimmed even more.",
"“Hey Freddy, stop playing!”\n\nFreddy lay on the ground, a broken body clad in a white and blue striped shirt that turned red before their eyes. The end of a long sharpened stake of the kind once known as a ‘spear,’ protruded from his chest, his hands had only just fallen away from the shaft. He’d been a boy like any of them only a minute ago, when he eyes were still bright.\n\n“Jacobi, what do you think is wrong with him?”\n\n“How should I know? He should’ve gotten up by now!”\n\nFreddy’s friends crept forward, their urge to surround the body was barely suppressed by their fear, but fear lost out to curiosity with every passing second.\n\nJacobi went forward first, followed by Lisa. Everett and Carol hung back, flipping desperately through their book for any clue what was wrong.\n\n“Something isn’t right!” Lisa hissed. “Blood shouldn’t do that, its not meant to pour out. The clotting agents are supposed to stop it.”\n\nJacobi’s curiosity won out and he straightened up, rushing over to his friend. They were nearly mirror images aside from slightly different shades of the same olive skin and the overwhelming abundance of blood where it should not have been. They had the same clothes, the same haircut, shoes, and upbringing. Everett did too in fact, and Lisa and Carol were so close they might have been twin sisters. Looking down into Freddy’s sightless, cooling face almost felt like looking into a mirror.\n\nA breeze came up, carrying a strange, almost metallic scent. Jacobi reached out, touching the spear where it had driven through Freddy’s chest, and when he pulled his hand back he sniffed it. Metallic, overwhelming, different.\n\nAnd shockingly, shockingly, vibrant.\n\nCloth rustled softly in the breeze, but in a way no human clothing could. All four of the youths whipped around towards it, and for a split second Jacobi wondered why Freddy’s head didn’t turn with them.\n\n“Heavens, I’ve never thought to find someone so new to death.”\n\nA dark figure stood in front of the teens, wreathed in a diaphanous gown of black silk that fell to the ground and drifted gently over the grass. It was unmistakably a woman, but a woman such as none of them had ever seen. Her hair fell in little ringlets so impossibly black they ate the light, her skin held an unearthly pallor, a paleness so archaic it was only ever spoken of in history books, and only then as a strange divergence. Her face was thrown into shadow by a deeply cowled hood, her feet were bare and graceful.\n\nShe carried a large, curved blade mounted on a pole not unlike the spear they’d made. Its surface was so polished Jacobi could see his reflection in it. He looked scared.\n\n“What’s that?” Lisa asked. “And who are you?”\n\n“What’s that?” the woman repeated, cocking her head to the side, fine eyebrows raising in shock. “Child, do you mean death?”\n\nLisa nodded. “Yeah. What’s death?”\n\n“Me,” the woman said simply. She walked straight forward and the youths parted before her, the motion not taking even a moment’s thought. “And him.” She crouched down beside Freddy, heedless of the hem of her gown in the blood, and ran her fingers through the chest wound like Jacobi had. She closed her eyes and licked each finger clean.\n\nLisa grabbed Jacobi’s arm. He tried to step in front of her but his feet were rooted to the ground.\n\nDeath’s eyes shot back open and she stood, leveling the scythe at Jacobi.\n\n“How old are you?” she said, her voice even and emotionless. The blade curved around the back of his neck and she stroked it down, shaving the small hairs there.\n\n“52!” Jacobi squeaked.\n\n“52! You don’t look a day over 16! And you, girl, what of you?”\n\n“49,” Lisa said. Even though she’d gripped his arm as hard as she could her voice had a stability Jacobi envied.\n\n“49…” Death whispered. “The same for the other two no doubt. Has it really been so long since I was last summoned? Your parents, how old are they? Do they still live?”\n\nJacobi squinted at her, stepping forward and to his right, away from the blade of her weapon. Death let him go, lowering the scythe. “What are parents?” he asked. “And what’s death, you still haven’t explained that!”\n\nThe planted the scythe in the ground and closed the distance between them in the space between breaths, Jacobi hadn’t even seen her move. “Death is whatever you did to that boy on the ground. Death is the changes I can see behind your eyes, in the tremor of your hand, in the way your friends look at you even now, though they don’t realize they’re doing it. Death is that which makes life worth living. It’s the ultimate state of every creature on this planet and its the most natural thing a being like you will ever experience. Parents are like that too, natural.”\n\nJacobi was fully half a meter taller than her but her shrunk backward under her glare and the weight of her words. “I don’t understand,” he said.\n\nDeath shrugged. “I suppose you can’t, but I think your friends do.”\n\nAnd Jacobi realized that whatever the strange insanity of the woman’s appearance and Freddy’s unnatural slumber was, the change in Lisa, Everett, and Carol was absolutely real. They stared at him wide eyed, stepping back, and Everett dropped the book.\n\n“What do we have hear?” Death picked it up, examining the charred near-ruin of the spine. She flipped it open, reading the title page aloud. “The Time Before: Life in the Land of Scarcity. Something tells me you children shouldn’t have this.”\n\n“Please don’t tell!” Everett exclaimed, dropping to his knees and clasping his hands in front of him. “I didn’t save it on purpose, it slipped off the burn pile and the fire went off and, and…I don’t keep banned books usually, I swear!”\n\nDeath didn’t answer, instead she flipped through the book, clearly searching for something. The air grew still and quiet, all four of the youths focused entirely on her, instinctively drawn to the incredible difference of her clothes and skin, her hair and her blade. “Ah!”\n\nDeath walked back to Freddy and tore the spear from him in casual, practiced motion, one bare foot pressed into his bloody chest. She turned the book toward them, showing off the picture she’d found, the picture they’d used to fashion the thing.\n\n“A likely banned weapon in a definitely banned book, a dead boy who should not be a boy staked out on a deserted hillside. A place that must have come after the Land of Scarcity, if I’m supposed to have read this title correctly. I blinked and the world changed. For the worse I fear.”\n\nShe tossed the book to Everett and he caught it, she tossed the spear to Jacobi, he caught it and the others shied away from him.\n\n“Lesson One,” Death said, “If you stab someone with something, they die. Lesson Two, if they die they never, ever get back up again. Lesson Three, blackmail is when someone with leverage over you asks you to do something you can’t refuse.\n\n“Wherever your home is, take me there now. It seems there’s much I need to learn.”\n\nr/TurningtoWords"
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[WP] The villain laughed "do you really think you can defeat me?" "Why not?" The hero removed their mask revealing and much older version of the villains face, "I've done it before.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\nMy eyes widened in their sockets. I felt a deep drop in my stomach, like my gut truly had fallen out my ass and dropped too the floor. My usual uneven, cocky eyebrows now quivered with confusion. \n\nA cold, familiar laugh, filled the empty corridors of the factory. The sharp moonlight only barley gleaming through the cracks of the walls. \n\n“What...what are you.” I said, my voice shaking. \n\n“I think you already know the answer to that.” The stranger said. His eyes were a striking deep blue...they were my striking blue eyes.\n\n“Y’know, I don’t love the time loop, but seeing the look on your face makes it all worth it!” \n\n“Time...what- Shut up!” I suddenly yelled out. I didn’t exactly mean to yell, my confusion had left me brain dead. I pulled my gun from where it rested on my belt. The man simply stepped the other way. \n\nHe walked toward me, sniffling in an exaggerated way...my sniffle. I had an uncontrollable sniffing tick ever since I was a child, due to a surgery gone wrong...and he had it. \n\nI shot uncontrollably at the man, but he continued to walk towards me, laughing to himself as he did so. When he was at a feets distance from me, I there my hand into the air, and attempted to strike him down with the blunt of the gun. Instead, the old man flipped me onto my back, I landed with a hard thud. \n\n“Calm yourself ass-twat.” The old man said, digging his boot into my chest. “Let me explain what’s going on first.” \n\n“No.” I winced out. I picked up the gun that had been knocked from my hand when he kicked me to the ground. I quickly shot at him, wincing when I did. When I opened my eyes, he was dead on the floor, with a gaping bullet wound straight through his forehead. \n\nI searched his body, looking for proof that it wasn’t me. He had my face, but older, my clothes, but more worn. I looked through his pockets until I found a note in the side of is jacket. \n\nHello James,\n\nAs you probably already know, I am dead. You killed me. You’ve killed yourself. I can promise you that I am you, as weird as it might seem. You’ve created a time paradox somehow. You regretted killing me, so you spent the rest of your life constructing a time machine. And when it was constructed, you went back in time to stop me, only to get shot, thus the process continued. I beg you to please just continue life as if nothing happened, move on! \n\nSincerely, \nJames \n\nI threw the note to the side. He was a fraud! I knew it! I was sure of it! There was no way I was that bitch of a man. I read the note over hundreds of times over. Time machine? If that was true, and time machines were real...I could take over the world. \n\nI laughed out to myself, and snatched up the note. I ran through the factory doors, running as fast as I could to my Lair. \n\nI was going to make a time machine."
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[WP] Solitary confinement becomes illegal for prisons. The most dangerous offenders are now cloned and made to share a room with themselves. If one dies, another clone is made and sent in.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“It is a humane experiment,” the warden said, looking into the cell from the one-way mirror. The audience laughed, and Hara did as well, a second late, a bit too high-pitched to be sincere. \n\nThe man in the cell pleaded with the baby to stop crying, but the infant continued. He rocked it and fed it and burped it, but the wails continued. Some of the audience watching placed ear plugs into their ears and snickered as the man broke down and started crying himself. \n\n“Originally, we placed clones of their age into the cell with them,” the warden explained. “But it did not have the desired effect. The clones got along well with the original, and there was no discord. Solitary became a sort of bliss for them. That’s when one of our junior wardens came up with this idea. That child is a clone of the man you see in the cell. We give our worst prisoners a baby and tell them they must not hurt it. This man has lasted longer than most. Most crumble within weeks and kill it. This is John Jarden’s first clone. When he kills it, which he will, because these men only know of ending a life, not sustaining it… we will tell him what he has killed.”\n\n“Will he care?” Hara asked. “He’s a killer, after all.” \n\n“It is different, for most of them,” the guide said. “A few don’t care, but most do. Even the most awful people in the world value their progeny. It is evolutionary to cherish our own genes. We found that the instinct and the emotions are amplified when it comes to clones.” \n\n“What happens if they don’t kill them?” Hara asked. \n\n“It happens on its own when the clone is around five. The clones of this prison aren’t made with the most care. If the clone stays alive long enough, the prisoners develop emotions for them. When they die, they mourn them. And then the cycle repeats.”\n\nHara thought it was cruel, but she kept her mouth shut. The man in the cell was responsible for the deaths of over fifty people. He was a monster. She looked at the infant who had finally settled. The man sat on his bed, rocking to and fro and keep the baby quiet. He was a monster, but whoever had concocted such a punishment was no less. \n\n“What if they become immune to that too?” one of the audience said.\n\n“Then we increase the dosage,” the guide said, a smile on his face. “Twins, triplets. Sometimes we make the clones older, on the verge of death. Our junior wardens make a game of it.”\n\nThe audience watched the guide with rapt attention as he listed all the famous serial killers housed at the prison, while Hara looked into the cell. The man slowly withdrew something sharp from his shirt and pushed it into the sleeping baby’s child. Hara gasped, but there wasn’t even a sound from the infant. It died after a few spasms and the man hunched over further. He withdrew the shiv slowly, and plunged it into his own throat. \n\n“Excuse me,” Hara said. It was over in seconds. He wasn’t a normal person, to falter or hesitate when killing. It was an easy thing for him, to end a life. But to end his own, so quickly, and twice over... it was terrible. \n\nThe guide looked inside the cell and groaned. “Oh, that’s no fun.” \n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nr/xeuthis"
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[WP] Horror stories depict that being the parent to a devil can be absolutely terrifying and traumatising. But the truth is, raising the devil is no more scary than raising an ordinary child, it's just that the devil has additional supernatural abilities
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“Mum!”\n\n“Mum come look!”\n\nI sigh silently as I get up from the dining room table. I put down my newspaper and quickly slink into the backyard, where my two little devil-darlings await me. \n\n“Mum look at what Jade made!”\n\nKids are much like cats. They bring you all sorts of disgusting material they may have gotten a hold of while jumping and playing around. But that’s just how they show they care. In truth, I’m still not entirely sure if my children *can* care, they’re still too young to tell. I’d already decided I’ll savour the early - and less problematic - moments with them as much as I can before they’re gone. And before they start asking about their father.\n\nI bent down to the level of my 5-year-old daughter, Jade. She was holding a small stick. Only the catch is that it was on fire. And filled with maggots. I try to not grimace at the sight, as to humour Jade and Alex. I slowly (and reluctantly) pick up my daughter’s gift. \n\n“Oh, it’s... great.. Honey… Uh, how about we go inside and make some dinner?”\n\n“But I’m not hungry at all!”\n\n“Neither am I, mum!”\n\nI fight to think of something that they’d like to eat. Or do. Anything to get them out of the backyard, and out of the sight of others.\n\n“How about making some cupcakes!”\n\nThey both stared at my stupid, hopeless grin like I’d just insulted them.\n\n“We don’t like cupcakes.”\n\nAlex had an annoying look of superiority on his face, and his twin sister followed soon after. \n\nHonestly, the hardest thing about raising the children of the Devil isn’t policing what they can and can’t do with their powers. It’s figuring out what they eat. \n\nI pull out my phone and hide in the garage. It’d be of much help if that asshole hadn’t left me to raise two kids with supernatural powers and the ability to send anyone they don’t care much for in a fiery pit for eternity. \n\n“Hhhello”\n\n“Quit your hissing, dickhead. I need help.”\n\n“Oh no. What happened.”\n\nHe was so nonchalant I almost wanted to punch him through the telephone line.\n\n“The kids are rowdy again. I’m trying to figure out the ‘torturer-of-souls’ equivalent to cupcakes.”\n\n“Oh, dear… You out of all people should know our kind doesn’t ‘enjoy’ things. I never found pleasure in anything. So why would my children?”\n\n“Well, maybe they’re not like you. Don’t forget they have human DNA as well as whatever works as genetics down there.”\n\nWith a low, loud scoff I heard the beep of the call ending abruptly.\n\nGreat. That means I’m on my own. \n\nI go back outside and gather them both under my arms and carry them inside. \n\n“So… what fun activity would you guys like to do?”\n\nBoth of their faces light up, and mine does as well. Seeing them happy is probably the only confirmation I currently have that they won’t end up like their deadbeat father. Until I realize what they’re probably thinking.\n\n“Inside.”\n\nThey both put their heads down in unison. I wait for a few minutes until it’s clear neither of them have an answer. I hide my face in my hands:\n\n“Ok… Let’s play hide and seek around the basement.”\n\nI can sense them looking up at me quizzically. \n\n“...And you can use your powers.”\n\nI hear them scramble around and jump downstairs. \n\nThis is not how I envisioned my 20s to go. \n\n(This is the first time I use a prompt on this sub and I'm very much a beginner at writing so sorry about that lol; just trying to get in some practice; also excuse the dialogue format, I have no idea how dialogue formats work in English)"
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[WP] An isekai harem story except the entire world is an ocean filled with ocean monsters. The protagonist has extreme thalassophobia is terrified of his harem of aquatic humanoid girls. The girls know this and are trying to help him through his fear so he can fight the demon lord in the deep abyss.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I don't like the water. Or the monsters there. But they like me.\n\n\n\"Come on, love!\" One said. I was shaking so much I thought I would cause an earthquake.\"it isn't so bad!\" I didn't want to leave my rock.\n\n\n\"You can breath and talk underwater, can't you?\" Another spoke.\n\n\n\" i-\" I kept forgetting I was like them. I watched the ocean sway and backed higher up on the rock. \"No.\"\n\n\n\"Please?\" One begged. I didn't know why they were here. I could barely focus on them.\n\n\nOne started to radiate energy that said she knew something. \"You need to fight the ocean lord, the one keeping the land at the bottom.\" She smiled sweetly and blushed. \"Please come down!\"\n\n\n\"F-fine, if it means I don't have to touch the water again.\" I say bluntly.\n\n\nI jumped in and was surprised at how good it felt. \"This is... nice.\" This was the first time I got to look at the girls. They seemed rather average. I'm sure they had good personalities, or something, but that didn't change the fact I wasn't interested in them. \n\n\"Now you can fight the demon lord, and bring me to live on land with you!\" \n\n\nI didn't like that. So I just began swimming. \"There is a faster way.\" A girl said.\n\n\n\"Huh?\" \n\n\nThey nodded at eachother as if agreeing on something, and showed me a water elevator. Then a girl said \"Come back when you're done!\" And down I went.\n\n(I will add more when I have ideas.)"
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[WP] You awake in a hellish landscape. While the monsters around you cheer about the successful summoning and call you the greatest demon the world has ever known, you try to come up with a way to tell them you're actually a normal human.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Bloody demons, im a warlock, not a damn power conduit. Reluctantly I am forced out of the demonic portal into the center of a stone plinth in the center of a hellish landscape of rainbows and blinding white stone. The cheers of the assembled crowd like chalk on a blackboard as two thoughts pass in quick succession. \n\n*This isn't the sixth circle, why does everything smell vaguely of mint?*. My wandering thoughts shunted to the back of my mind as I lay eyes upon my summoner. The amalgamation of what appears to be a classical imp and a unicorn covered in sparkling jewelry. Its light burning my retinas as I slipped on my pair of prescription sunglasses from my pocket. \n\nIts high-pitched squeaky voice reminiscent of the children's cartoons they use to air before the demonic apocalypse took place. \"Demon what are you, why have you answered my summons dark one, what is the greatest demon to be summoned on this plane named!\" The dull murmuring in the assembled audience dulling to see if I would fall for the ploy. \n\nMy response coming in a slight glare and a solitary word that echoed across the hellish paradise. The vile magics of my patrons already twisting in my grasp as the petty wards meant to contain a lesser friend shattered. Etherial shards of superheated arcane magic dissipating a cloud of rainbow smoke \"Nope\".\n\nThis annoying animal still standing after the dissolution of the ward it's the small staff creating a shield of flickering crystal. The crowd immediately screaming as these things ran from the stands in a blind panic. \"I'm not a demon, and I don't take kindly to this summoning.\" \n\nMy polar opposite hacking as the shield finally dropped exposing the frightened demonic summoner. \"Please powerful one, please have mercy I'm willing to sell my soul to save the others.\" Boil raging anger just barely kept suppressed as I lowered myself to this thing's stature. \n\n\"I am not a demon I don't want your soul, I am a warlock a human sorcerer, about as far as you can get. Either send me back or I will take your soul by force and burn it in the tar pits of the lowest level of the abyss.\" Whatever amounted to fear in this damn imp present as a torrent of celestial magics bounced off my cloak.\n\nIts eyes briefly turning towards its companions vainly trying to harm me with very ineffective light magic. \"Ye, yes I'll send you back warlock just please don't boil my soul.\" Its hand briefly grasping the ather before I snapped back to my apartment, my popcorn burnt to the point that I vowed revenge."
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[WP] An unknown force attack the United States and annexed Florida. The remain survivors and army hold out in the happiest place on earth, this is the story of the great Disney Siege.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Status report,\" Captain Lewis screamed out. It was an order and a question all neatly packed into one convenient shout.\n\n\"We just lost Epcot,\" the private answered. \"And it looks like we have Tangos moving in from the Seven Seas Lagoon. Sir, Magic Kingdom is all we have left.\"\n\nCaptain Lewis studied the souvenir map he had laminated to his makeshift desk in the command center. He knew this was bad. Last week they still controlled every park but Animal Kingdom. Today, they were backed into their final corner.\n\n\"How many park drones do we have left,\" the captain asked.\n\n\"6 park drones and 3 civilian. We can arm the park drones, but the civvies aren't sturdy enough. They'll only work for recon,\" another soldier relayed.\n\nAn explosion rocked the security room turned command center.\n\n'Thank god for these tunnels,' Lewis thought. Not only did the tunnels keep them safer from arial bombardments, but they also let them move throughout the park with unfettered access.\n\n\"That blast just hit Main Street, USA,\" a third soldier called out, eyes still on his computer screen. \"Sir, they've breached the park.\"\n\n\"I want drones in the air NOW,\" Captain Lewis belted out. \"Get me two tracking the breach with an armed one in support. I want two more flying the perimeter. We can't get caught with our pants down. Strike team HOTEL, move to Main Street, USA and engage. INDIA, you're going with them. JULIET, set up a perimeter behind INDIA. We cannot let these Tangos through.\"\n\n\"Aye,\" was the only word of confirmation given. With the orders, the three team leaders were out of the room and running, boots echoing down the hall.\n\nCaptain Lewis looked back at his colorful, hand-drawn map. 'If we're compromised, we'll need to retreat to Frontier Land,' he thought. He realized that from here out, the dead would lie where they fell. They couldn't afford to move them into Fantasy Land anymore. It's A Small World would take no more bodies.\n\n\"Jenson,\" Captain Lewis beckoned.\n\n\"Yes, sir,\" Jenson replied.\n\n\"Clear us an avenue of retreat. The siege is over. They are coming through the gates. If they make it any further, we will need to fall back to Frontier Land.\"\n\n\"Sir,\" Jenson saluted. He went about his task.\n\nCaptain Lewis removed his service pistol and racked the slide, seating a round. He re-holstered the weapon and picked up a stuffed mouse from the desk. 'Today's the day, old friend,' he thought.\n\nAnother blast shook the tunnels. A klaxon bellowed. Main Street was lost."
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[WP] The princess has been working with the Dark Lord. She doesn't care about betraying her family or the royal court. But, when the plot is revealed, it is hard for her to abandon her husband, as he was the only one who showed her kindness.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"They struck on the darkest and longest night of the year, Fimbul’s Night, that inevitable night lasting three days when the sun would not rise. The bonfires lit in its place were flaming loud and clear against the clouded sky that was threatening to extinguish them at any moment with a flood of rain. It had not fallen yet, as had the gates. They were still standing strong, but the harsh sounds of clashing swords chased each other through the hall that had been filled with music only moments before. A sense of dread had befallen the court and the the musicians, even the lights seemes dimmed.\n\nThe throne was empty now as the king was pacing back and forth in front of it, hoping desperately for news from the gate and already planning a way out of this. The prince had lept to the defence of the castle as soon as he had heard the screams of battle, as was to be expected of the great hero he was. The queen was reaching for a cup of wine with trembling fingers, silently praying to appear dignified in spite of her rising panic. The princess was standing in the middle of the hall, alone, straightening her crown and dreaming back to the last moments of the dance that had been interrupted when her husband had been called to arms. He should return safely, he was a hero of the realm, but battle was unpredictable and bad luck alone could decide over life and death. If only he hadn’t went, he would have lived for sure. The fist drops of rain began to set in, accompanying the slow, methodical ticking of the clock.\n\nAt last, the doors opened up to reveal a bloodstained figure limping through them. Alone. Unarmed. The pricess let out a small cry mixed of worry and relief as she ran towards him. He gently pushed her away, refusing to lean on her in front of the court. It was not looking good for the guards. The prince reported hoardes of enemies clad in the light blue garb of the dark lord. The guards had already been pushed back from the gate when he had arrived and the remaining three guards were currently making a desperate last stand in the door to the tower. The king finally stopped his endless path and turned to face the door.\n\n“Not all hope is lost. We can still win this. You have the advantage in the stairway so use it. This castle can be held against thousands of attackers, if we just have the guts to defend it! You’re a hero, why do you come crying to your wife?” It was astonishing how cold the king was as he ordered the sacrifice of his subjects. The king mentioned for the prince to leave. It was evident that he would not return. The dark lord was no normal assailant and so the pricesses face turned white, but she straightened her back and looked her father in the eye nonetheless.\n\n“It’s over, father. The exits are blocked, the castle has fallen, and you will not send my husband to die pointlessly. I will now call back the guards and you will not stop me.” With that, she turned on her heel and rushed out of the door. Her father protested, but in the end, he was happy that the decision was not his. What he wasn’t happy about was the figure striding through the door behind the pricess only moments later. The court let out a murmur of hatred and digust, and yet curiosity aswell. The dark lord was just like they had imagined, with his wicked smile and celebratory swagger, and yet also completely different. Mainly, he wasn’t killing and maiming on sight with a manical laugh on his teeth. The rain fell heavily now and the boots of the enemy were filthy with a mixture of mud and blood.\n\nHowever, the hero was not about to let this shadow of evil stand unopposed in the hall of his king. No matter what, he would continue fighting the impossible fight. Even if his only weapon was a ceremonial one or if his foot had been pierced with a spear only minutes before. His hand was steady as he drew the dagger of another courtgoer, but the heart of the princess was not. She threw herself in his path to stop him, grabbing him, pleading with him not to throw it all away.\n\n“Don’t do this, please don’t! You barely beat him last time and you weren’t injured then! He’ll crush you now! Please! Please don’t do this! You don’t have to die! Stay with me! Please! Please...” but the prince did not listen. He pushed her to the floor and continued his charge against the grinning attacker. It was hopeless. The princess could only watch from the floor as the love of her life was impaled on a sword. He spat and gagged his last goodbyes as he lay on the floor, his muscels a comical juxtaposition to the tiny arms of the princess grasping him. She felt like weeping,but she held back her tears. The situation did not allow it yet. The rain was falling heavily now and the first sparks of lightning raced across the windows. The fires would not burn much longer.\n\nUnimpressed, the smiling lord made his way toward the kings with the slow, methodical steps of someone who was tasting every second of his victory. The king did not waver, although he was clearly disturbed and afraid by the figure of legends standing before him and bowing so theatrically, corrupting all the meaning of the gesture meant to express respect and turning it into a meaningless farce. the bow was directed at the empty throne.\n\n“Thank you for giving up your throne so easily, *your majesty*. You are a wise ruler indeed.”\n\n“What on earth do you mean! I’m the king, dumb-dumb. You cannot depose me!”\n\n“Long live the queen.”\n\nAt these words, the king looked at his wife, confused as to why she should hold any power over him. His innocent looking wife who hid her intelligence to please her husband. She had always been ambitious hadn’t she? But this was too far, even for her. The kings expression tensed up. Except she was the wrong person to blame.\n\n“You do not seriously think mother has had anthing to do with this, do you? I knew you were stupid, but quite so stupid? You are **not** fit to rule.” The princess had taken a depp breath before speaking up and it had payed off. She was still kneeling besides the body, but her voice, that had just been quivering with dread for her lover, had taken on a steady, serious tone with only a tinge of sadness still inside. At that, the court shivered unconciously. This was not the sweet, little princess they had known. This was a monster that had taken her place and betrayed them all. Thunder was rolling through the sky outside. The quiet incredulousness was even louder.\n\n“You! You made the castel fall! You want to take my throne! You killed my heir! You will pay for this, I swear it on my grave! I will take you down and make you pay!” The king was frothing with rage. He had just been outdone by a woman, by his daughter, by his political tool, and she was now his queen. It defied all logic. She hadn’t been taught any of this. She had been taught to smile, wear pretty dresses, and not speak out. She had not been told to make alliances of her own to ursurp her kindom and depose her father. The king drew his knife. The princess was a traitor and she would have to die. The king shouted at the top of his lungs as he charged, a scream of anger, hate, and also despair. The attack was foiled easily by the dark lord.\n\n“Would you like me to silecence him, *my queen*?” The point the question made to the old king that had just been thrown onto the floor was evident to everyone. What wasn’t evident was how the new queen would decide. Would she even decide? She was still kneeling next to the corpse of her lover with glaying eyes that showed no reaction to what had just happened. Had she even heard the question? Was this even a question? Surely the dark lord was their leader, surely he was superior to her.\n\n“You know, sometimes you jsut have to let things go. If you’re not able to stop them, then why bother fighting? I learned that long ago. I he had learned it, he would still be here today. It was the only thing he had left to learn, after his kindness to all and his drive to do what is right.” The queen let go of the dead hand she had been holding and stood up, just in time to catch a look of annoyance from the dark lord, the one who had argued against clemency while they had been planning. But the queen wasn’t finished. “But there are some people who cannot let things go, whose stubborness causes tragedy and wars unneccessarily. I just cannot allow you to continue, father. You forced my hand and now you will be hit with the full extent of the law. Which prescribes public execution for an attempted assassination of the monarch. Goodbye.” The queen looked back down at her lover for the last time. “Farewell, my love. May we meet again. May you see me again for what I am.”\n\nWith the traditional farewell for the dead she turned towards her throne and claimed her birthright, against all that had opposed her."
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[WP] You were not chosen for this mission because ofntour physical prowess, intelligence, or any special skill. You were recruited because color blindness offers a certain immunity to the danger, and you have the most complete version of color blindness there is.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"SO, THE NEW SACRIFICE COMES BEFORE US.\" The booming voice echoed within the massive chamber that is home to The One To End Mankind. \"BASK IN OUR LIGHT, AND BE RELIEVED OF YOUR SUFFERING.\" The massive insectoid swarm spoke to Dylan, as it no doubt has spoken to the countless others sent to it, thus postponing humanities end another month. \n \nAs the words were spoken, Dylan looked around in a mix of truly paralysing fear and astonishment. The Chamber, as it was known, was nothing short of a palace, grown by the swarm, moulded by the enslaved humans into a true wonder of architecture, a building that seamlessly blended nature and artifice. A marvel of unearthly beauty. \n \nWhat a shame it is that it housed such a monster. \n \nThe swarm, The One To End Man Kind, began emanating light. It was this light that, by all accounts, transfixed humans. This light acted upon something in the brain, causing you to not just ignore the fears that evolution worked so hard to instill in you, but to silence that part of the brain completely. Once you saw that light, in all of its impossible, unimaginable colours, you were done. A puppet. Food that just happened to still move on its own, happy to be eaten as long as you can still see it. \n \nDylan would have given his left arm to see it. \n \n\"STEP FORTH!\" The swarm bellowed, its edges buzzing slightly louder. Dylan did as commanded. \"DISCARD YOUR WEAPONS, HUMAN, FOR THEY ARE NAUGHT BEFORE ME. DISCARD YOUR FEARS, FOR WE ARE ABOVE THEM. DISCARD YOUR DREAMS.\" The swarm paused, seeming to relish the moment. \"FOR WE ARE YOUR UTOPIA.\" \n \nDylan then did something nearly unheard of. Something as idiotically dangerous as walking into the chamber was in the first place. \nHe spoke to it. And by it's name. \"Oh, Great Aruzezlin, one that is all, multitude of multitudes!\". \nThe buzzing stopped, just for a moment, and came back, twice as intense. \"YOU DARE SPEAK MY NAME, LITTLE MORTAL! THIS WOULD BE A GRAVE INSULT FOR ANY WHO IS NOT A SACRIFICE! KNOW THAT YOU HAVE BEEN BESTOWED A GREAT HONOUR!\". \n \nDylan fell to the floor, weeping. \"I am sorry to have angered you, being of might, ruler of the air, beauty personified! This humble sacrifices, unworthy though he is, wishes to beg for a favour of you!\" Dylan was speaking in what he called the Servant voice. Who knew that RolePlaying, of all things, might save the world. Well, that and... \n \nThe swarm buzzed again, but it didn't sound angry now, more...Pleased. It did fancy itself a god, and apperantly flattery can work even on incandescent, ravenous, hyper-intelligent bug swarms from outer space. Who knew. \n \"SPEAK, MORTAL, AND IF WE DEEM THOU FIT FOR MY BLESSING, WE SHALL GRANT THIS FAVOUR UNTO THEE.\". \nDylan swallowed. Here goes. \"I wish of you, no, I beg of you with every fiber of being, let me be encompassed by youR magnificence and your light, if only for a few seconds, before I'm sacrificed to your majesty and splendor.\" Dylan was still weeping as he said this. \n \nAfter what couldn't have been more than a second, but to Dylan felt like an eternity, the being that was Aruzezlin laughed. \"IT IS A TRIFILING MATTER! WE GRANT YOU THIS REQUEST!\". \n \nThe swarm flashed even brighter and more frequently, as it encompassed him, entombing him in a casket if tiny squirmming bodies. When they were all upon him. Then, he finally released the trigger. \n \nThe immediate effect was a soft his from the canister he was holding. The second effect was insects dropping from the air like.... Well, like flies. \n \n\"WHAT....WHAT IS....\" The swarm became frantic, yet somehow sluggish. \"WHAT HAPPENED???\" It buzzed, screaming. Afraid. \n\"Insecticide.\"Dylan answered, still standing, now smiling. \"A really clever and new one. Harmless to humans, deadly for you.\". \n\"HOW? WE COMMAND-ED YOU TO D-ROP....TO... YOU'RE....\" The swarm was becoming dumber with every dead bug, like a brain whose cells are dying one by one at ridiculous speed. \n\"I disobeyed. Turns out, that if your mind control is based on flashing colours, there is one type of human you are powerless against- the colour blind.\" Dylan said with a dramatic bow, as the last part of Aruzezlin, The One To End Mankind, the swarm that are thousands and destroyed cities, finally fell to the ground, dead as a rock."
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[WP] The last time you saw your brother, he ate some weird mushrooms, then ran out into the woods saying he was going to fight a god. Its been years now, and in your attempt to track him down, you become afraid at how close he seems to of come.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Chapter 1: Mortal Blood Will Show\n\nLyon, France. Present day.\n\nThe early morning light saturated the stone and concrete steps of the ancient Roman amphitheater. The dull flat clouds above seemed to absorb all the warmth of the new sun, leaving a bleak and cold feeling in the air. A steady wind rose up from the river a few hundred yards behind the open-air stage, just enough to bite the edges of Sandra’s ears as she stared down at the corpse. It lay face down across the top row the amphitheater. The dried blood had run down off the centuries old stone and collected in rivers among the concrete mortar. The body was that of a relatively young man, his physique obscured by the long black robe he wore. A loud voice drifted up from the edge of the arena. \n\n“You got here fast.” Sandra looked down towards the left side of the stadia to see Gilbert, the tall thick man climbing the steps towards her. He waddled slightly from side to side, and with every heave she could see the buttons on his too-small charcoal grey overcoat strain. \n\n“I was already awake when you texted.” She shouted back, raising her voice to be heard over the wind that buffeted the theater. She had been so sure of a killing tonight that she had not slept for a moment. She had begun monitoring the Lyon police radio the instant she checked into her hotel and was already in a taxi on her way to the scene when Gilbert texted her. “I told you it would be Lyon,” she said without a trace of satisfaction.\n\nGilbert, now only a few steps below Sandra, nodded and responded in a firm and even tone. “You did.” He finally came to a stop on the step below the body. He stared at it fixedly for several seconds, seemingly absorbing every detail of the vicious death. His gaze slowly widened as he took in the entire crime scene. Gilbert gave a small shake of his head before he turned to look at the city vista just visible over the top of the stage. “Although,” he mused, “I still say it was a lucky guess. I saw the same evidence you did and I didn’t see anything to narrow it to this ‘Lion’ city from all the other old-world-cities named after lions.” Sandra smiled, but was too agitated and focused on the body to banter back. \n\n“I have a better perspective with regards to this, what do we know about his guy?” She motioned down with her head and folded her arms. Despite the rising sun, the air felt as if it was getting colder.\n\nGilbert sighed, pulled a small notebook out of his coat pocket, and flipped through its pages until he found his place. “Gabriel Laurant. Thirty-seven years old, worked for a medical supply company here in the city. The body was discovered by police late last night after a disturbance was reported in the area.” Gilbert stepped up to the body and turned it on the side so that the front was facing Sandra. The man’s robes were encrusted with dried blood. Several large ragged holes were visible in the midsection which revealed the flesh beneath. “As you can plainly see,” Gilbert pointed towards the cuts, “the victim was stabbed several times in the stomach.” He carefully laid the body back down before pulling down his sleaves to reveal his hands and forearms. They were covered in small cuts and deep purple bruises. \n\n“He has multiple defense wounds,” continued Gilbert. “Lacerations on both his hands and forearms. These bruises,” he pointed towards the purple discolorations, “indicate that his arms were repeatedly battered with a great and violent force.”\n\n“A club of some kind?” Sandra guessed. Gilbert shrugged.\n\n“I couldn’t tell you for sure, forensics will be able to give us a better approximation of the weapon. Now, if you look over here,” Sandra watched as he then scrambled up the last few steps and walked over to her. He then pointed at the raggedy red path leading away from the body. “and follow this blood trail, it seems he was stabbed back in the ruins behind the amphitheater.” She nodded and kneeled down to look more closely at the body. The leather messenger bag she wore at her side pulled tight against her chest, until she adjusted it to lay in the small of her back. She carefully patted down his sides and his back, looking for anything out of the ordinary. She then turned him over and did the same to his front. She vaguely heard Gilbert describing the scene inside the ruins of supporting the conclusion that some form or attack occurred, and that there was additional cult paraphernalia identified as well.\n\n“How was he identified?” She asked. Gilbert reached into his pocket and pulled out a small plastic bag. It was marked as an evidence bag from the local police. Inside was a black metal card case. She could see an identity card on the outermost slot. She snorted “So much for being an anonymous cultist.” \n\n“Weellll,” Gilbert drew the word out, which caught Sandra’s attention. She looked up quickly, Gilbert was frowning. “It appears that he was more than just a cultist.” He slowly pulled out another plastic bag. Inside was a small metal box strung on a thick metal chain. Sandra stood up slowly. She reached for the bag, and Gilbert handed it off. The box was old, the metal was twinged with green and brown spots where age had eroded the iron. It had twelve sides, with small holes bore through certain faces. A small metal orb protruded from each corner. She felt a shudder run up her spine. \n\n“A dodecahedron,” she whispered, more to herself than to Gilbert. \n\nHe nodded. “Yes.” He watched as she rolled the metal box around in her hand. Its weight surprised her, for such an old and ancient piece of metal it was remarkably light. The craftsmanship was astounding as well, the faces were etched with a mixture of circular and angular designs. Parts of ancient inscriptions were visible, while some characters had been rubbed away by centuries of wear. She looked back up at Gilbert. \n\n“Did the police take any samples?” she asked.\n\nGilbert shook his head, “No, because of your,” he paused. Sandra knew he was about to make the “lucky guess” joke again but had changed his mind. “Intuition,” he posited, “we had boots on the ground yesterday. They were able to secure the scene and override the local police’s jurisdiction. They threw a fit about it, but when do the French not cause a scene.” He smiled, but Sandra again said nothing. He coughed and shivered as a fresh gust blew across the amphitheater. \n\nShe looked around the empty ruins, and knew that even now local news trucks were probably on their way, and in a few hours every tourist and local in the area would be trying to catch a glimpse at the crime scene. They had to move fast. She spun her messenger bag around and pulled out a small black nylon pouch that was zipped close. She knelt down next to the body, and unzipped the case. Inside were a series of vials, small scalpels, long thick needles, and two large syringes. Gilbert moved close and shielded her from view of the nearby road. She unstrapped one of the syringes and quickly plunged it into his chest cavity. She pulled the plunger and felt the already thickening blood flow into the glass vial. She took the second syringe and repeated the procedure. \n\nOnce the two vials were full, she strapped them back in the case and pulled out two of the needles. One was a thick black needle of compressed and polished charcoal. The other was a wooden needle with small geometric shapes carved across the surface. She held the two needles in her left hand and with her right she withdrew the scalpel from the pack and cut two small incisions in the body’s arm. In each incision, Sandra carefully inserted a needle. She repeated the process six more times until she had placed each needle from her pack into the body. She began to pull each one out in turn, carefully examining them before sealing them in glass vials of their own. The first three did not appear altered, save for the thick splotches of blood stuck to the sides. Then, she pulled out the fourth needle. It had been a regular metal needle coated with honey; the sweet amber liquid that had clung close to the needle had turned a brilliant gold, evenly tinged with red blood that seemed dull by comparison. \n\nSandra delt dazed as she held the golden needle in her hand. She her Gilbert swear behind her and she looked up. He was staring fixedly at the needle, his hand outstretched to examine it himself. She handed the needle up to him. Gilbert held it directly in front of his face and spun it several times, Sandra watched the sunlight sparkle off the rounded point as it twirled between his fingers.\n\n“A demi-god,” concluded Gilbert, is voice a mixture of awe and disgust. “An actual Mediterranean demi-god.”\n\n“A demi-god?” Questioned Sandra. “Not a true god?”\n\n“No.” Gilbert shook his head, his eyes never leaving the needle. “There is taint in the Ichor, mortal blood will always show.” Her eyes flicked to the red hues interlaced with the gold and nodded. He handed the needle back to Sandra who sealed it in a vial. She removed the remaining needles from his arm and rezipped the pouch before she placed it back in her bag.\n\nSandra stood up and the two looked down at the wretched corpse on the ancient cobblestone. There was silence for a full minute.\n\n“He was here then.” Sandra murmured. Gilbert looked over cautiously.\n\n“We,” he paused and took a breath. “We can’t know that Sandra.”\n\n“No one else can kill a demi-god.” She insisted.\n\n“No one else we’re aware of.” Gilbert corrected. Sandra whipped her head around to face Gilbert.\n\n“And that’s somehow better?” Sandra snapped back. Gilbert did not respond, and kept his gaze steady on Sandra. She turned back to the body and shook her head. “No,” she said. “it was him. My brother was here.”",
"\"Daniel? Where the hell are you?\" I shout into the woods, the flashlight illuminating the dense foliage in front of me. The darkness in front of me seemed to go on forever. I only can hear the crinkling of leaves below me, the occasional snapping of twigs. Each shout gradually disillusions me, as has happened every single day for the past 5 years.\n\nMy brother, Daniel, was always a moron. He hung out with the wrong crowd, couldn't make it past Sophomore year, and spent the bulk of his time doing drugs in our parents' house. One day, he decided to move on from pot to shrooms; and these weren't just your normal psychedelics. He got them from some strange guy in an alley, who he was too stoned to even remember what the guy looked like. Daniel being Daniel, he downed the whole bag that night and started going off the wall. His room was torn to shreds, looking like a Rottweiler got let loose inside. Photos ripped off walls, furniture tipped over, holes punched into walls. The worst part was Daniel himself though; he was almost foaming at the mouth, screaming about how he has to 'train to kill God,' and yelling at us for not 'seeing the truth.' We all were scared to death and were about to call the cops, before he smashed through the backdoor, running off into the woods.\n\nThat was the last time I've seen him.\n\nHe might be a moron, but at the end of the day he's still my brother, and I'm worried sick. Search parties were deployed, private investigators called, news headlines posted. None of it had any results, and eventually people lost interest, his name and photo fading to the ever growing list of permanently lost missing persons in the eye of the public. Not in my eye, though.\n\nThese woods are only so big, and they're surrounded by highways when you look out far enough. Someone would've seen him if he went that far. No, he's gotta still be here, lost and probably living off of some weird plants he stumbled across. It'd be completely like him to survive completely on dumb luck.\n\nI kept looking through the woods, edging deeper than I had on previous nights, hoping to whatever God he was trying to kill that I'd stumble across some little hideout he made. I kept walking, and walking, and walking; the darkness remained everywhere, and it began to grow ever so slowly. My flashlight began to dim and dim, before abruptly dying.\n\nShit.\n\nI felt in my pockets for spare batteries, only pulling out an empty wallet and some pocket lint. As I began to panic, I saw a light in the distance. It looked like a campfire, a feint smell of smoke filling my nose. A part of me hoped it was Daniel, but the rational part of my brain figured it was either just some hikers. Having no other option, I began to walk in that direction.\n\nNot wanting to attract much attention, I began to sneak to figure out if it was even safe for me to be by there; could end up being some serial killer, too. Crouching behind the brush, I looked ahead to see...\n\nDaniel?!\n\nI saw Daniel! Holy shit! He looks exactly the same, too! I jump out of the bushes in excitement, running up to him and shouting his name. He immediately turns around, and I pause my excitement, because his eyes are... pure white.\n\nWhat the fuck?\n\nEnergy is radiating off him as a white aura surrounds him. His eyes aren't white, no... they're alternating between every color in the spectrum. And as I try to look at him, it's as if his form is... shimmering. The same grey hoodie he wore that day isn't tainted or dirty, but rather looks pristine, but the logo on it flashing between different text and symbols. His jeans are somehow... every color?\n\nI take a step back in shock \"D-Daniel... what the hell happened?!\"\n\nDaniel tilts his head to the side and lightly smiles \"I'm glad you're here. You're just in time to witness the battle, and chronicle the New Age.\"\n\n \n\"The... The New Age? Daniel, what the fuck is going on, where have you been for the past FIVE FUCKING YEARS?!\"\n\nDaniel frowns lightly \"I told you that day. I have to kill God. Did you not pay attention?\"\n\nThe way he talked.. the way he conducted himself... it was like I was talking to a completely different person. I just stared at him in pure shock, and he just laughed in response.\n\n\"I see. You all were under the impression that I simply had a bad drug trip. I am happy to assure you that is not the case; you see, I was chosen by Fate to defeat God and end his harmful reign upon our world, and liberate everyone into a New Age free from deities. I will be a hero, my brother.\"\n\n\"How the fuck are you magic?! You took shrooms! I'm just...\" But before I could finish my sentence, the ground rumbled. Thunder shook the world around us in a continuous uproar, as lightning struck the trees around us in an instant; they all disintegrated. The sun and moon spun continuously, night and day flickering like a strobe light. There was no more color to the sky as it seemingly ruptured in two, clouds changing their shape with every passing second. The space above the atmosphere seemed nonexistent. In the place of the hole appeared... something. It couldn't be described as more than *something.* It had no shape, it made no noise, it had no color, no outline, no shadow. And yet, I could *feel* it. Its raw power seemed beyond anything I could comprehend, forcing me to succumb to my knees. Before I could even consider taking my eyes off of it, Daniel smirked.\n\n\"God has arrived.\"\n\nSuddenly, my brother's body began to melt. Flesh ripped off muscle, bone turning to dust, organs fading into light as a being of pure energy appeared in his place. He began to grow and grow, his energy beginning to rival that of God's, wings of all sort appearing on his body. Lightning struck him, and yet he only absorbed it, using it to alter his very form into something that resembled God as well. I could only stand in awe as he lost his appearance of Daniel, my brother, and appeared to be something beyond of this world. This new being rushed towards God, and slashed.\n\nAs they fought, my very conception of reality... changed. It began to look less like the woods and more like... a room. Walls appeared around me, boxing me in, as if they were... protecting me. Windows appeared on these walls, allowing me to look through; as I peered through them, I saw a lawn. Cars. Trees. Houses.\n\nI turned around and saw furniture. My parents' living room.\n\nThe sounds of the television began to send pains through my head. Where the hell was Daniel? I could still see reality shimmering in front of me. Was it taking me back to that day?\n\nI began to walk around, confused and terrified. I no longer felt the energy of Daniel nor God, and as I walked I tripped and fell.\n\nI looked over to the couch\n\n\"So, how was your first time on shrooms man?\" Said Daniel, smirking as he held his leg out\n\nI shook my head, beginning to come to my senses. Reality seemed to come to normal, my bearings returning. Yet, I still felt just as relieved to see him as I did before.\n\nI hugged Daniel tightly, tears streaming down my face. \"I really fucking hate you sometimes\"",
"I've buried my brother twice now. There wasn't a body the first time, still isn't this time. They say time heals all wounds, but oddly enough the first time gave me more closure. Evan disappeared five years ago. I thought nothing of it when he didn't come back that night. Hell, I thought nothing of it for the first three days. Evan, well, Evan wasn't perfect. Drugs and debts weren't just the norm, they were basically his passions. My mother filed the missing person report that same week. I gave up hope after six months. The funeral was the two year anniversary of his disappearance. It was the first and only time I cried over the \"death\" of my brother.\n\nEvan never accepted reality. When we turned twenty seven, he looked me in the eye and said \"Hen, why do you wanna work for the man? Why do you settle for this bullshit? There are forces out there that control our every action and you are playing right into their hand.\" At the time he was high on something and I thought he was talking about my pending application with the local police department. Now, with tattered remains of his journal in hand I realize the depth of his delusions was deeper than any of us knew.\n\nWe didn't declare him officially dead on a whim. There had been an investigation. We organized manhunts through the entire forest. We even found tracks. Evan had met up with people in the forest, they had left by what investigators can only assume was horseback. The trail went dead eight miles into the woods later. \n\nI used connections on the force to look into the case after the detective gave up. Evan owed a lot of people money, but it was the local gang he owed the most to. $10,000 with of \"IOUs\" for \"armaments and protection wards.\" The detective assumed it was code for drugs, his journal makes it clear it was for \"four pistols, 2 rifles, 5 handgrenades, 4 kevlar vests and 5 wooden glyphwards incribed with the emblem of Ayperos.\" His journal had a drawing too, lines and dots inside a circle sigil. I closed the case and declared him dead when I found the cabin they had stashed their clothes and money in. It had been a bloodbath, the four remains were unidentifiable.\n\nLike I said, the first funeral had given me closure. Until the next week when I received a package with a ripped out page and one of those wooden \"glyphwards.\" The page had contained instructions to on how to ask Ayperos where someone was. Maybe if I had taken the letter seriously Evan would be alive today. Or maybe he had been dead since that night he ran off. It doesn't matter because I ignored that letter for over a year. I don't know when it started exactly, or how, but the nightmares is what brought it all back. Every night I could hear the screams. I can hear the chirps of the crickets in the forest. I can feel the heat of explosion. Then just before I wake up I can see the clearing. There are rocks surrounding it. I recognize it, it is where the the trail ended in the last investigation. \n\nSo here I am, five years later. I only had to dig once, I had seen the spot so many times in my dreams. It did not take long. To find the small wooden chest. A bundle of torn pages, a grenade pin and sticky note that read \"RIP Evan, your sacrifice won't be in vain. See you next time, buddy.\"\n\nI left the note and pin. In my experience, not many people had fond memories of my brother. Often I would forget that I had any either. But someone had mourned him. Someone had known him well enough to care. Someone had known him better than I hand and that someone had wanted me to know that Evan really was dead. They had wanted me to find his grave. \n\nI buried my brother for the second time tonight. Still no body, but I know he's dead. My brother had told me he was going to kill a god. Maybe I'm crazy too, like he was. Summoning demons to find your brother's grave sounds pretty crazy to me too. But I know there is no closure here. Not tonight, not with his journal left unread. Not until I find out what my brother sacrificed himself for.",
"It was just about dinner time when I rode into the village of Yellow Rock, at the base of Mt. Celestia, called the Gate to the Heavens.\n\nArmed with only a staff, a horse, and a picture of Daniel, I decided to ask around. \n\nMy first stop was the pub.\n\n\"What can I get ya, lass?\" The dwarf behind the bar asked. Her voice and dress were surprisingly feminine, despite the beard.\n\n\"Dark ale and shepherd's pie, please... and have you seen this man?\" I slid the picture of my brother across the bar.\n\nShe took the picture, hopped down from the platform she was using to lift herself to bar height, and ran back to the kitchen.\n\n\"Grornit!\" I could hear her yelling from my seat at the bar. \"Isn't this the guy who was gonna punch out Eitr?\"\n\nTwo dwarfs came running out to the bar. The bartender had brought a friend.\n\n\"Stay away from that guy,\" the male dwarf cautioned.\n\n\"But he's my brother!\" \n\n\"He's nuts. He stopped here earlier today and said he was gonna punch the Great and Holy Eitr, God of Life and Death, right in the face.\"\n\n\"Something about avenging his mother's death.\" The female dwarf spoke again.\n\n\"What? Mom would kill him! Besides, her death was fair. She drank herself to death. Sad, but fair.\" I sighed.\n\n\"I gotta get back to work on that shepherd's pie, Ozurra.\" Grornit patted the bartender on the back and scurried back to the kitchen.\n\n\"Well, hopefully your dear mum's spirit will talk some sense into him before he reaches the top of that mountain. Even if he could breathe the air up there, the gods would throw him out on his arse.\" Ozurra hopped down from her platform and poured my beer.\n\n\"Son of a... I'm gonna have to go up there and get him, won't I?\"\n\n\"If you want him back alive. You came on horseback, right?\"\n\n\"Yeah, I started from Verdantia this morning.\"\n\n\"Wow.\" She sighed. \"Okay. My cousin runs the stable here in the village. When you're done here, go there. Board your horse for the night and get a fresh one. I'll have Grornit pack you some rations. You can fight, right?\"\n\nI reached back and touched the staff on my back. \"I don't like to do it, but I can defend myself.\"\n\n\"You've a long night ahead of you, lass. How's your magic?\"\n\nI cringed. I could feel myself sinking into my bar stool. \"Don't have any.\"\n\nOzurra flipped the picture of Daniel over and wrote on the back in Dwarvish. \"Show this to Nofrer at the stable. He'll send you to the local wizard to get you some healing tinctures and offensive potions.\"\n\n\"Thank you.\" I took a sip of beer, followed by a chug. Dwarvish dark ale was delicious!\n\n\"Make that your only one, lass. You'll need a clear mind for this.\"\n\n\"What exactly will I find on the mountain? Besides Daniel, hopefully...\" I took another drink.\n\n\"At the bottom, beasts and travelers. Higher up, legendary beasts. As the air gets too thin to breathe, you'll meet the dragon. And if you can pierce the clouds, which no mortal has been able to do, you'll find the gods.\"\n\nJust then, the sky darkened. Lightning flashed across the sky and thunder cracked so loud that everyone in the pub reacted. Some covered their ears. Some jumped. I screamed.\n\nEven louder than the thunder was the word: \"BEGONE.\"\n\nGrornit ran from the kitchen, holding a shepherd's pie, and set it down in front of me. \"Bet he found 'em.\"",
"Part One: The Phone Call\n\nFor nearly five years now, Nick's been missing. Despite all of our efforts, the police tip lines, the search parties, the thousands of flyers Mom made Katey and I put up every day after school and on weekends, we've never had a solid lead on his whereabouts. For all intents and purposes, he just vanished. That was until two days ago, when a strange phone call from a man identifying himself as Shamash changed everything.\n\nMom was the first to receive a call. Three Xanax later and she still hasn't calmed down.\n\n\"Parker residence.\" she answered. I was listening intently on the other receiver, as I always do. It's not snooping, it's research I tell myself.\n\n\"Are you the bloodclan of Nicholas Parker?\" the voice boomed over the tiny speaker. I immediately heard the kitchen phone hit the floor, and with it, my mother's limp form. I screamed for my sister. \"KATY! WE NEED YOU! MOM FELL IN THE KITCHEN!\"\n\nI waited to hear the tell-tale thumping of Katey's feet down the stairs before I answered back. \"Yes, this is the family of Nicholas Parker. Who am I speaking to? Do you know where my brother is?!?\" I exclaimed, louder and more forceful than I intended. \"I am known in your speaktongue as Shamash, and we are in distress due to your broodkin.\"\n\nI bellowed, \"And who exactly is 'We'?\"\n\n\"We are the adjudicators of the foretimes, the bearers of witness to all that came from your earliest de-\"\n\n\"DAVID! I NEED YOU IN THE KITCHEN, NOW! MOM'S BLEEDING!\", Katey exclaimed loud enough to wake the dead.\n\n\"Could you hold on just one second?\", I inquired thoughtlessly.\n\n\"Be swift in your return. I have much to di-\"\n\n\"Great, thanks.\" And with that, I set the handset down and rushed to my bloodkin's aid. Did I really just say \"bloodkin\"? Geez. This guy's already getting on my nerves.\n\nMom started to stir. \"Whu...what happened? WHO IS THAT MAN ON THE PHONE THAT ASKED ABOUT NICK?!?\" she blared worriedly, the panic setting into her voice. \"Calm down and relax, let's get you to the couch and get this bleeding under control. It looks like a small gash, I don't think it needs stitches though. Katey, can you..\"\n\n\"On it.\" And with that, she grabbed the medical kit and proceeded to put her nursing degree to home use as I sat Mom down on her favorite spot on the dingy, tacky old sofa. I returned back to the waiting handset, eager to hear what this 'Shamash' had to say.\n\n\"Sorry about that. You nearly killed my Mom with that inquiry.\" I said, half-joking. \"Now, tell me what you know about my brother's disappearance.\"\n\n\"We could only wish that he disappeared!\", Shamash declared, somewhat angrily. \"Your broodkin has been awoken for nearly sixty full moons. In that time, he has eviscerated and destroyed nearly every member of our pantheon, a pantheon that has stood for over two hundred score winters, since the third dynasty of Ur. Nearly our entire Antum of a hundred score beings are now removed from this plane, with the handful of us that remain living in *puluhtu.\"*\n\n\"Uhm, what?\", I asked.\n\n\"FEAR.\" And as he spoke the words, I heard it in the blare of his voice. He was scared. So was I. Not because I was afraid for Nick's safety. I was afraid for Shamash, and his..what was the word? Antum? A quick Google search should--\n\n\"Antum (or An) - A scholarly cuneiform text from ancient Babylon, detailing the names of over 2,000 Sumerian deities.\"\n\n\"Oh Jesus, Nick... you actually did it. You've killed Gods.\"\n\n\"Where is Nicholas now?\", I queried.\n\n\"Babylon.\", he responded, still sounding quite shook.\n\n\"Which is where, exactly?\"\n\n\"The territory you know as Irag. Please, we cannot stop him. You must come and retrieve your bloodkin, or assist us in destroying him if all else fails.\"\n\nSilence, as these words sank into my heart and soul.\n\n\"I'll be on the next flight to Baghdad.\" The words left my mouth before I even had time to realize it.\n\n\"Please, hurry. We are few and growing fewer.\"\n\n\\*click\\*\n\n\"Mom, sis... I know where Nick is, and you're not going to believe where or how. I need to pack.\" I said, surprisingly soothingly.\n\n\"Just bring him home safe, please.\", Mom cried.\n\nTwo days later, and I'm sitting in the terminal at Bahgdad International, and I have no idea where to begin. Time to head to Babylon, I suppose.\n\n\\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nIt's late morning before the rickety shuttle pulls into the site of Babylon. Myself, along with about a dozen well-dressed and well-kitted tourists from various parts of the world depart the shuttle rather quickly and take shelter under the visitor pavilion to get out of the mid-day sun that blazes overhead. It's there that we're greeted by a husky yet dusty young man, whom I immediately and wrongly assume to be a local tour guide. He introduces himself as Shamail, and states that he is a researcher and archeologist on the site, and he will be giving us a four-hour tour of the grounds.\n\nAs we begin walking down a wide paved expanse, Shamail begins, \"Welcome to the site of ancient Babylon. The area we are proceeding down now is known as the Processional Way, and leads to the Gate of Ishtar, the northern entrance of the city. I must ask that you all keep with the group at all times. Photographs are permitted, except where explicitly stated. These area will be marked by signs. As these areas are in the process of being restored, we ask that you respect our hard work and please do not venture off into these marked areas, for your safety. This way!\"\n\nAfter passing through the Ishtar Gate, the group pauses for a moment to take photos and pose in front of some of the semi-rebuilt temples along the route. Shamail is off to the side, answering a few questions. As I approach, the questioners break off to take more gaudy Facebook pics. I seize my chance.\n\n\"Excuse me, Shamail is it?\"\n\n\"Yes, what can I help you with, my friend? Would you like to know about this temple to the right?\", he asks.\n\n\"No, thank you. I was wondering... have you by chance seen a young American man, a few years older than myself with the same color hair around the area? Perhaps working with the archaeological team?\"\n\n\"Unfortunately no, I cannot say that I have.\", he states, rather curtly.\n\nI pull a photo of Nick from my wallet and show it to him.\n\n\"Ibnel aahra!\", he exclaims, nearly jumping out of his own skin. A Google translate search later reveals this to mean, \"Son of a bitch!\" I must be on the right track.\n\n\"You know this man?\", I ask, already knowing the answer.\n\n\"Come find me after the tour, when the shuttle has departed. I will drive you back to Hotel Royal Tulip personally. We have much to discuss.\"\n\n\"Agreed\", though my danger meter just jumped through the roof. I never told him what hotel I was staying at.\n\n\\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n(Part 2 below in the comments)"
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[WP] You have the benefit of hindsight, before the situation even happens.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"One end of my bad habit glowed as I filled my lungs with some-day cancer. Next to me, my new partner chewed her lamb gyro and thought over what I had said.\n\nFrom here, at a park atop a hill, we could see the urban mess that some would call a city. Several million lives busied themselves making other people rich, all while they worried about their rent and their bills and their relationships.\n\nAnd we had to take care of them. The wage slaves and the fat cats alike.\n\nMy new partner swallowed her mouthful of Greek-food and said what was expected: “Isn’t that just foresight?”\n\nThis question came, as it always did, when I had explained what it was I offered in our partnership. What’s your power?\n\nThe question asked by and to all new partners.\n\nMine is pre-hindsight. And no, it’s not like foresight.\n\n“Nope. Not foresight.”\n\nThe aptly named Gail took another bite of gyro. The wind, prone to pranks and various villainies, stole away the paper napkin she had spread across her lap. The breeze carried the tissue for a moment, and then...the litter’s flight path arched back around, and the square landed back in her lap. \n\n“How is it *not* foresight?”\n\nA smokey sigh escaped my lips and was whisked away from us and our bench by an unseen hate for the scent.\n\n“You’re pretty good at keeping your usage subtle. I didn’t notice the smoke at first, but the napkin was...conspicuous.”\n\n“Sixty-seven points.” She said. Scrabble scores and wind control. What a combo. ”I’ve had practice. So? Foresight.”\n\n“Not foresight.”\n\nAnother bite, manners ignored: “Mow mot?”\n\n“Foresight is *knowing* what is going to happen before it does. Prescience.”\n\nA gulp, a smack of lamb and mint-yoghurt coated lips. “Sixty-six points.”\n\n“Hindsight is *understanding* how something happened and why - only after the fact.”\n\n“And if you understand the cause of an event before it happens. Foresight.”\n\n“No. I know the cause of the event, but not what the event is. For example: see that tall building, the cylinder of dark glass?”\n\n“Yeah.”\n\n“There’s a sniper and he’s aiming at one of us. I feel regret and I know I am going to wish I’d done someth-”\n\nThe bullet whizzed by my head. Pushed by a sudden forceful gust. \n\n“Run, dickhead!” She made for the trees. I knew that I’d wish I did and so I did."
] | 2
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[WP] On the day of his child's birth, the father is told that he will die once he spends 24 hours with his kid.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"After many long years, in a Hospital, a young man walks up to the bored, tired figure lying in one of the beds, temporarily mute after a car accident and receiving treatment for his injuried.\n\n\"Father... I've found you. I spent so many years looking for you, but I finally found you, through the article about the crash. I know you can't talk right now, but... I'm staying here. I'm not leaving your side until you tell me the truth. Of why you left me and Mum. The whole truth.\"\n\nA doctor walked in.\n\n\"Sir, we did some examinations on the damage to your heart, and... we understand this will be hard to hear, but... You may not survive to see tomorrow.\"\n\nAnd the figure in the bed, slowly, let out a dull, low scream, as the penny finally dropped.",
"My mood quickly changed, and I almost felt paralyzed. Unable to comprehend the magnitude of his words, I stared at the doctor, eyes glazed over. That must be why he called me in the hall to share this news.\n\n“Do I tell my wife?”\n\n“That’s your call, Mr. O’Brien.”\n\n“I don’t understand. Why me?”\n\n“To keep order under the regulations imposed by the Department of Inhabitants of Earth, each hospital is required to randomly select one father for sacrifice every day. The members have been so kind as to allow the father 24 hours with their child. What you do with that time is entirely up to you.”\n\nThis was something I hadn’t heard of before. I wasn’t even aware there was such an agency. If I had heard about it, would I have still agreed to have a child?\n\nI was obviously ecstatic moments ago, but now I am the most miserable person alive. I glanced down at the watch integrated into my left arm. Old habits, I guess. Instead of seeing the time, I now saw numbers - 23:37:12. \n\nThe doctor saw my confused expression. “Sorry I didn’t get a chance to tell you before the clock started. I have to get to another delivery.”\n\nWhat am I supposed to do? How do I tell my wife? Do I tell my wife at all? \n\nStanding in the hallway for what seemed like hours, I contemplated what was laid on me. My wife called out to me, but I could not bring myself to go back into the room. I desperately wanted to hold my son but every moment had to be cherished.\n\nI decided I could not tell my wife. I could not share this with her, with anyone. \n\n“Here, hold your son. Isn’t he perfect?”\n\n“Sure is.”\n\nTick.\n\nI held my son for what felt like seconds. 22:58:19. In his first hour of life, I’ve lost one.\n\nThere’s so much a dad wants to teach his son. Ride a bike. Throw a baseball. Grill a burger. Fall in love. Get heartbroken. Fall in love again. So much I would miss. So much *he* would miss.\n\nWith my arm showing me 22:46:51, I went home for the night. What I had to do was now clear. \n\nA set of hard drives containing all of the recordings I had made was concealed in the baby’s closet. I wrote special instructions, indicating where to find the hard drives and which one contained each of life’s major milestones. Since I did not know when my clock would run out, I carried these instructions with me at all times, ready to hand them to my wife at any moment.\n\nThe time had come to give my son his first bath, change him, and get him settled in his crib. I happily volunteered.\n\nI might miss out on these milestones, but my son would not.",
"I packed my things and moved into a hotel nearby. For my son's first 18 years, I barely spent time with him in person. I missed out on a lot of things. I wasn't there to teach him how to ride a bike, read, or tie his shoes. \n\nBut I spoke to him every night and saw him over Zoom. I went to every school play, sports meet, and graduation. Technically, those things didn't count against me because I wasn't actually *with* him. I was in the crowd.\n\nI would manage to get in a quick hug afterwards and talk to him for a little bit, but my eye was always on my watch, and there were many times when I had to make an exit. He knew why I had to go, but that didn't stop the pain as I watched him and his mother walk away, with him looking over his shoulder to catch glimpses of me. Then afterward I would sit in my car and log the time I had spent with him, wondering if maybe I could have given him a few more minutes. But that's how it had to be.\n\nMy plan was to spread my 24 hours over many more years so that I would be able to be there at my son's wedding, at his children's births, and most of their birthdays. But one day I got a call from my wife. Our son had been out driving and he had been hit on the side by a drunk driver. According to the reports, he died on impact.\n\nAnd just like that, all those plans I had made for us to spend time together in the future no longer mattered. I had planned everything down to the minute, but I had never planned that my son would die before me.\n\nI wish I would have spent more time with him. But now I have nothing but time on my hands, and it's too late and I can't turn back the hands of time."
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[WP] You've heard of "God's Plan" all throughout your life, but never believed it. You actually end up making it into heaven. You stride up to the Temple of God one day and see a book. It's labeled, "God's Backup Plan".
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"This book will tell you everything you need to know in case the first plan is very wrong or has broken in some way.\"\n\nThat was the message Kendra found on a dusty time hidden away in an unused room of an old temple that no person ever went to anymore. Kendra had only gone on a dare and now it felt like she was the messiah of this new book. \n\n\"Forget all the Religions\" her message said. \"God screwed up, but there is a backup plan\"\n\nMillion came in droves ro find out what the message was.\n\nKendra, fresh in new white robes came out and said \"The message from God is clear!\" She held up the lone page inside the book for all to see.\n\n\"Good Luck. You're on your own this time. The Earth will restart in\" it was at this point that the text moved. \n\nA counter timer of seconds."
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[WP] “Finally, the construction of our new School of the Kingdom is complete.” “Uh, are we really going to house and educate all thirty million kids here?” “What could go wrong?”
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I look at my brother incredulously. \n\nHe had been talking about this dumb idea of his for a while now, but I didn’t think he was _actually_ going to go along with it. Being promoted to President has seriously got to his head. \n\n“I know super schools are in right now, but this is just ridiculous! How many teachers are you going to need to hire? What are the size of the classrooms? Where are the children going to slee—“\n\nMy brother cleared his throat, shushing me. When we were kids and he did that to me, I used to punch him so hard in the leg, he would be limping for days. Now he’s protected by his shiny suit and pompous status. \n\n“Calm down Rosalind. I’ve obviously thought about all this. I am the President now, you know.”\n\n“Rosalind?! I’m Rosie. You’re Mikey. Like old times remember? God, I wish they never made you President! You’re becoming just like Dad”\n\n“Stop it now. We are not kids anymore. I have a World to run. There are 33 million children out there who deserve the same opportunities as each other. With this new school, there will be no more child poverty or malnutrition. The children will eat, sleep and play here and receive the best care and education possible” he said, in his most sincere voice. \n\nIf I had been a member of his loyal fan base, I probably would have shed a tear at his rehearsed speech. \n\nAlas, I am his sister. That means I know one very important thing about Mikey. \n\nHe is utterly incapable of telling the truth. \n\nWhile this has served him well during his rise to presidency, his tall tales have never fooled me. \n\n“Oh please Mikey! I’m not one of your little fans who queue up at 5 in the morning and put kisses in your letters. I’m your sister. Cut the crap. You don’t care about any child let alone 33 million of them! The only thing you care about is yourself. Now tell me the real reason why you are building this”\n\nI fold my arms and hold eye contact with him. Even though he is a big fancy President now, I could only see him as the little boy who dressed up in his Daddy’s oversized suits. \n\nMy body starts to relax. I can never stay mad at him for long. Whenever Mom was shouting at him for stealing another kid’s toy or lying about where he went, he used to climb into my bed and I would stroke his hair until he fell asleep. \n\nDespite all his faults, he was still my little brother and I loved him dearly. \n\n“Come on Mikey. Michael. Mr. President. Whatever you want to be called now. Please tell me why”\n\nMy brother stepped forward and placed his hand on my shoulder. Despite being several years younger, he towered over me like a gentle giant. \n\n“Rosal—Rosie. You have always been so naive. But this is far more complex than you could ever imagine. Politics is a dirty game. I was made for this world, not you. I don’t want to lie to you, so stop asking me questions I cannot answer”\n\nI relax into his arms and give him a hug. \n\n“It’s okay. I understand. I’m sorry for making you lie. Why don’t you get us hot chocolates from the machine like old times and we will forget about all this” I say. \n\nMy brother smiles and ruffles my hair. He then leaves the room, heading for the drinks machine. \n\nI wait till he has turned the corner and then I quietly shut the door. Grabbing his keys that are lying on the table, I unlock his desk drawers and frantically ruffle through the documents. \n\n_Quick, I must be quick._\n\nThere! I recognise the scrawly mess that passed as his handwriting and grab the wad of papers from the drawer. \n\nMy heart sinks as I read what the real plans for the school are. \n\nHow could he...\n\nHe was always a troubled little boy but this was psychotic! \n\nI am so engrossed in the document, I don’t hear the door handle squeak open. \n\n“Rosalind. What are you doing?”\n\nI jump out my skin, dropping the papers onto the floor. \n\n“I’m so sorry Mikey, please let me pick—“\n\nMy brother pulls out a gun. \n\n“Why did you have to do that? You know I can’t let you leave now. You have discovered too much. Why couldn’t you have just left it!” \n\nI stare at him in shock. \n\nTears fall onto my cheeks as I plead with him. \n\n“Please Mikey, I’m your sister, you can’t do this—“\n\nThe President clears his throat, shushing me. \n\n“Rosalind, close your eyes. I promise you everything is going to be okay”"
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[WP] You've spent the last several months chasing after a magic artifacts store with a penchant for disappearing and reappearing in a different town. Today you've finally caught up with them, shoving through the door with search warrant in hand.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"My first ever post! Hope you enjoy!\n\n​\n\n*Open for business was the small, low ceiling shop. Golden were the lights that hung gently swaying above the two short and narrow aisles. Swept were the floors for the absent customers. Dark blue were the walls with slow-moving white specks like stars in a night sky. Stocked with crystals, metallic figures, potions, and glowing orbs were the old wooden shelves hastily built and crooked. Carefully placed was each unique item awaiting the right buyer. And behind a peculiar register with several handles and buttons stood Herald. Still, he stood, and nervously he waited. Unsettled he was in his brown tweed jacket because of a quiet ringing in his ears. Coming was the agent, but not before his most important client.*\n\nIt looked like any common building from the outside, but the items for sale inside were what attracted the secret service’s attention. Reports of explosions, odd weather behavior, and earthquakes were what kept the store on their radar, but just as they got close to finding it, it would disappear. Two months had gone by since the last discovery of the infamous Shifting Shack’s location. It was last given away by three reported trees spontaneously struck by lightning on one sunny afternoon in Phoenix, Arizona. The time before that, a sonic boom originating from an abandoned building on the side of a desert highway that caused several vehicles to turn over. \n\nThe Shack had been on the secret service’s radar since the early 1990’s when an old man reported stepping inside a store that could only be described as “otherworldly and magical”. Moments later, he was seen blown through the windows during its explosive and sudden departure from inside an abandoned corner store. The old man had been tracing the store for decades and had accumulated significant evidence for its existence in the form of photographs and videos of curious customer behavior involving teleportation, mutation, and even one case of resurrection. Additionally, minor earthquake reports coincided with store visits caught by the man making the store’s existence increasingly convincing. Before long, the secret service had no choice but to assign a small team of investigators to find it. \n\n*Louder now was the ringing in Herald’s ears. Like they agreed, here any moment his client would be. From below the counter, with ancient writing along each side, Herald unlatched a cubic case. Power emanating from the green charged stone inside he felt, but creeping inside him was the worry of his client’s scolding reputation. Carefully with gloves, he lifted the stone onto the glass counter. His ringing grew ever louder until Herald heard the shop door creep open.*\n\nKayla’s phone rang at 3:00 am. A quick conversation with her partner, Isaac, gave her the adrenaline to get into her car in two minutes flat. They may have found it again. This time, given away by a sighting of a skull-shaped cloud descending onto the roof of a laundromat only one hour away from Kayla’s motel room. \n\n*“You seem agitated.”, a voice spilled through the shop entrance.*\n\n*Even louder became the ringing in Herald’s ears and shaking were his hands.*\n\n*“Both excited and delighted to see you I am, Your Highness.”, Herald replied.*\n\n*Open snapped the door before quickly shutting behind His Highness. Tall he was. Taller than most men and certainly more charming than Herald he was. Long and black was his hair that reflected the golden light. Faded into a ghostly fog were the bottoms of his legs and feet. An intricate watch, black suit and tie he wore as his best impression of a rich human.* \n\n*Around the shop he walked, touching and smelling certain items between glaring looks at Herald.* \n\n*“I pity the souls who buy your knock-offs. How desperate they must be.”, he said as he put down a potion-filled flask.*\n\n*“Trained senses you have. What I sell to the desperate speaks not to what I sell to the fortunate.” Like a siren now, piercing was the ringing in his ears.* \n\nIt was here alright. The clouds in the sky were ink-black above the rundown laundromat whose neon letters flickered. She took a few photos before leaving her car on the side of the road and walking toward the shop.\n\n*Approached the glass counter at the back of the store His Highness did. Locked onto the stone and wide with disbelief were his eyes. With a look of question, His Highness gestured to the stone, and Herald nodded.*\n\n*With a handkerchief, His Highness grasped the green stone in his hand and felt its weight. Deeply he stared until interrupted.*\n\n*“Stare after you buy. Take it you should, before it takes you.”. Confident was Herald’s tone as his best impression of an owner who knew its worth.* \n\n*His Highness broke his stare. Gently onto the counter, he placed it, and into the case Herald set it, shutting the green light away as he latched it closed.* \n\n*“Empty it is. Works wonders on humans. To cast its power—”,*\n\n*“I know how it works. Stare into it. But how do I know it works? I won’t pay until I see.”*\n\nKayla looked through the window of the laundromat only to see a perfectly normal store, rundown but normal. There was a coldness coming from the walls that felt oddly penetrating. She went for the door.\n\n*“Here she comes,” Herald whispered to His Highness. “Treasure souls for eternity. No longer must they go to waste. Its full potential only someone like yourself could achieve.” Ripping through his head was the ringing. A human was here. Just as planned.*\n\nThe door was heavy. Very heavy. \n\n*Anxiously, they waited for her.*\n\nThe open door revealed a startlingly small shop. Two men at a counter turned their heads to face her as if expecting her. One of them, that looked like a shopkeeper, smiled. The other, surprised.\n\n*Stopped had the ringing in Herald’s ears. “Hello, miss.”.*\n\n“What is this place?”. Kayla was freezing, and the air was thick with perfumes and horrible smells.\n\n*“This is my shop of wonders. A convenience store of sorts. And a convenience, I sure have for you.”* \n\nHe unlatched an ancient-looking box and revealed the most beautiful emerald Kayla could have ever imagined. So beautiful, she found herself entranced. She began stepping closer as the refracting lights mesmerized her, consuming her thoughts and memories. She stepped closer and closer as her eyes widened and her soul slipped from within herself. \n\n*Dropped she did with an elegant wisp of air flowing into the stone.*\n\n*With a swift wave of his hand, His Highness enchanted Herald. Followed quickly was his hand swiftly grabbing a dagger and plunging it into his chest. Screams left Herald’s body, but soon came a blissful return to painlessness.*\n\n*“Immortality granted,” His Highness said, pulling the dagger away.*\n\n*“Pleasure doing business.”*\n\n*Picked up the box and away he went with the stone.*"
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[WP] You are an avid hiker. As you traverse a particularly remote section of woods one day, you encounter what appears to be a shallow grave, with nobody inside. Then, you hear the sound of a truck approaching...
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Nobody ever came out here. That was the point of coming out here, a quiet place fairly close to town but not too close, a place I could come to put everything out of my mind for a while. And today I was in the bush a bit before twilight would set in, in that part that was out of sight of the cliffs and ocean but where the air still made you think of the water when I found a shallow pit.\n\nIt was longer than I was tall, maybe a metre deep. It was the part of the bush where the earth had a yellow clayish texture to it. It was soft and exposed, cold and probably a bit damp this time of year. Well, it was interesting. A change of scenery in a place I'd been a hundred times. There were little roots pointing out of the soil here and there in the pit, bugs poking around this new world they found themselves in.\n\nI was crouching down by the pit wondering why it was there. Builders? Developers planning to chop down part of the bush to build some expensive new houses that would inevitably lead to more houses, and fences and roads and shops until this place looked like any other part of fringe suburbia?\n\nI heard an engine. The bush was fairly sparse, but still I didn't realise you could drive out here. I looked over and saw tire tracks I hadn't noticed before. Someone wasn't here for the first time. A white ute came out of the trees and stopped maybe ten metres away. The driver jumped out immediately, and I guess he didn't notice me. I was in a khaki shirt and tan shorts so I blended in pretty well.\n\n\"...what the fuck, what the fuck,\" he was muttering to himself. He pulled back the cover from the tray and started dragging something out. It must have been heavy, and he wasn't being gentle with it.\n\n\"You all right mate?\" I called out, standing up from where I was crouching by the pit.\n\nI got a better look at him. He was big guy with a crew cut and the kind of wide-eyes, scrunched-brow glare of someone who gave a lot of shit but didn't like getting it. He was wearing a singlet, jeans and had a dog tag around his neck and tattoos all down his arms.\n\n\"Who the fuck are you?\"\n\nI saw what he was dragging out of the tray. It was a woman. Her head and a shoulder were poking out from under the cover, neck bent backwards and looking way past me in a really disturbing way. Then I noticed the blood and that the woman was probably dead.\n\n\"Mate, you're in the wrong fucking place at the wrong fucking time.\"\n\n\"Calm down mate.\"\n\nThe words came out in a panic and I was panicking. The guy with the dog tag had a big commando knife in his hand and he was walking towards me. I backed up, tripping into the pit. He started running. By the time I got up he was there, swinging the knife at me in huge arcs. I had a million things running through my head at once. I needed to run, I needed to get up, get out of the way, the earth under me was soft so I had to be careful how I moved, the guy looks like he doesn't really know what he's doing with the knife but it doesn't fucking matter. The loudest thought was that there was someone trying to kill me.\n\nI'd climbed out of the pit. He'd got me a bit but it didn't hurt, I just felt numb and cold everywhere, and my muscles weren't working right. He stepped across but tripped into the other side.\n\nI jumped on him. I didn't think I could get away and it was all I could think to do. I grabbed him in a nelson and pulled his arms out from under him so he was on his face in the dirt. I was a big guy too, I'd done a lot of jiu-jitsu. It didn't feel the same though when you're panicking and scared.\n\n\"Get the fuck off me.\"\n\nHe was trying to get up and I was trying to hold him down and not let him get his right arm off the ground. It was much harder to control him than it should have been, I felt so numb and weird. He rolled onto his back towards me and reflexes kicked in and I threw my legs over and had an armbar. He was reaching for his knife with his left hand so he wasn't fighting the armbar. I cranked it like I'd never thought I'd crank it and there was a snap.\n\nI felt the knife fall onto my lap and I grabbed it before he did. I just started stabbing. I changed to an underhand grip and started stabbing harder. He was pushing at my face but he stopped soon and pretty much stopped moving. I didn't stop until I was too tired to keep it up.\n\nI stood up and wiped my hands on my shirt and looked at him with his wide-open eyes and at the body hanging out the ute with it's wide-open eyes and wished I was anywhere but here. I thought about that I'd just killed someone and maybe I should feel bad about that but I didn't, I just wanted to get away.\n\nI left everything there and started hiking back."
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[WP] Ten humans were created in a lab. Each being superior to any natural-born human in every measurable category. They were sent in to infiltrate and take over various parts of the planet. Your job is to find out why every one of them failed.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"They were perfect the ultimate example of what the human species could become so why were they dead before their mission even began. Remorsefully I finish zipping the bodybag closed the flawless face of nine brutalized by a gaping crater from a primitive firearm. A small patch of viscera clinging to my host's gloved hands as I quickly dragged the body from its shallow grave. \n\nThe malicious winds of the sage grass infested desert blowing silently with the passing winds. Nine had survived longer than the rest of the uplift agents he was a master diplomat and emissary. Our go-to link when the champion of Illan touched down but it seems some force decided to set back or plans. Its origins simply something missed in the preparation of the project as the body slides free of the pit. \n\nA pool of crimson blood pooling inside the grave and its lip as I placed my hand on my glasses. Their primitive yet advanced construction the sole reason the empire wanted this world and their glass shaping. These intrusive thoughts are dim as I place my hand onto my earpiece doing my best to wipe off the blood onto my suit beforehand. \n\nSo maybe it wasn't my body I still had standards and it is going to be returning with us. \"Nine has been retrieved cause of death same as prior, ready for rift traversal.\" \n\nThe shifting desert winds picking up as the crackling tear in reality formed in the crisp night air. Nines unnatural weight becoming a liability as I hefted the bastard over one shoulder. A small tear of blood leaking from between the poor construction of the plastic bag. Command's etheric voice crackling through the radio as I reflexively flinched\"Gate stabilized proceed 1-1.\" \n\nNines corpse an insurmountable weight as I staggered into the glowing orange and sparking portal. Primitive as they might be the humans might be our reflection in terms of counterintelligence. That or these bouts of murder were all due to some unknown quirk though I heavily doubt that thought."
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[WP] Not even a posthuman super-soldier such as yourself could hope to survive an impending orbital bombardment. But, one thing is for sure; you're not going out without a fight.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The rain of bombs are dropping from the sky.\n\nThe bombs are too much. With so many explosion it is almost unbearable to death. Impacts of how each and every shell hitting my skin. It is as if a boulder was thrown at me. Shell after shell, fragments are flying all over. Its getting hotter as more and more radiation is building up. \n\nIs this even worth it? The bombs continue shower down one after one and yet for some reason I feel as if this was a stupid idea. Why did I even try in the first place. Maybe I got my hopes way too high. Thinking that I can do anything. \n\nThe bombs continue to fall down one by one. The ration starts to build up. It is getting hard to see. Every building is turning into rubble.\n\nMaybe I am not trying hard enough. I need to go beyond my limit, but how? I should be able to this, I am beyond human. I am a super solider.\n\nIt is hard to see anything anymore.\n\n\\*cough\\*\n\nlooking down there was blood on my hand. \n\nAt that moment it was clear this was my limit. \n\nWith death almost at my door step, was it even worth it?\n\nThe civilians already escaped and the casualties only being me. Maybe it was worth it after all, I lived good life saving the people over and over. Rather than seeing this as my end. Is it not better to see at as full filling my purpose? If that is the case then I would dye happily.\n\nAs the bombs continued to destroy the land, the super solider stopped and just stood there, grinning."
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[WP] You're a superhero that's allowed yourself to be captured by the weakest, most pathetic of the supervillains you fight on a daily basis, simply because you kinda feel bad for the guy, and you want to give him something to brag about around the other supervillains.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"'Hello, Peter.''Hello, Captain.''Brooding on evil plans, are ya, Pete?' I ask amicably.'This one WORKED!'Suddenly ropes surround me, as a something falls on my head, something light and crawly...\n\n'Yes, yes, it certainly appears so,' I say calmly before realizing this needs to be more of a struggle. 'I mean AAH, AAH, WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME DID IT HAVE TO BE SPIDERS?!'\n\n'Well, I *am* Spider-man, after all,' he says, leering down on me.\n\n'Name's taken,' I gasp, ignoring the spiders in my hair. 'You'll get lawyers after you for this, you fiend!'\n\n'Not lawyers!'\n\nI nod. 'Big ones,' I whisper. 'With big offices. The sort that Disney hires.'\n\n'After me?' he whispers, suddenly sounding eager and beaming.\n\n'All of them,' I say, getting into it now. 'They'll sue your pants off and then sue you *again* for indecent exposure.'\n\n'That was my *masterplan!* How could you possibly guess... I'll be famous!'",
"\"Tighter,\" I hissed under my breath, looking up at the henchman who was tying me to the rack. He was a scruffy looking thing, hair poking through and am uneven shave apparent under his mask. Visible through the mask though were his eyes, a dull brown that showed a defined lack of real intelligence, and as they glazed over in confusion, I nodded to the rope, the knot already falling apart. The light switch flicked, and he realized the error and tightened the knot. It had to look good after all. \n \nStepping from the shadows, Doktor Shade made himself known, his minute powers to dim light playing well in the space. It appeared to be little more than an abandoned warehouse, but for the computer engineer turned villain it worked. Especially a villain with limited wins. \"Ah Silver Star, I see you've come to. My trap worked perfectly.\" \n \nIt hadn't. \n \nAnd I hated that name, but this time around you didn't get to choose your name, the public named you. It was a terrible policy, but it was my fault, I chose such a flashy power - and to be a hero as well. Like the good Doktor, I had The Gene that made me an Augment. Although my gene had been activated sometime around 826 CE, and I had been swapping identities like an 'accountant' switched stage outfits. Kids these days and their slang... I'd been it all, a wise sage, a powerful wizard, a walking embodiment of death, and in recent years a super hero, a villain and once an anti hero, just for kicks. My powers were vast, and were technically \"magic\", but I'd messed up a spell and ended up immortal. Now I could make my powers look like whatever I wanted. This lead to the current predicament. \n \nSilver Star was a hero, a damn good hero. With his silver beams of energy and flight he was the pride of North Western United State. In reality I hated America, rotten to the core and in stark contrast to the Colonies that had fought for their freedoms. I, as Silver Star, had been trying to help a guy out. Doktor Shade wasn't a bad guy, he was an unfortunate guy. His Gene had been activated by a workplace accident, and his job had fired him for being involved in the accident. He'd lost everything, and gained a meek power in return. But when he was rejected from doing good, he turned to bad. He'd been pushed out of the Evil Doers Guild (I'd been a founding member of the guild, when we called it simply The Guild, and Lance would be rolling in his grave if he knew what it had become.) He just needed a win to be put on the map and taken seriously. \n\n\"Now, it is time to show my capture to the Guild, and reveal your secret identity!\" It was now I noticed the small prosumer drone that hovered over his shoulder. He was recording it, good, he could use the win. \"Of course, I'll only reveal Harold Peterson as your identity to them. Then you and I can have a real talk about Lief Hrafn fæddur.\" The blood in my veins went cold. I brought my fingers up and snapped, as runes burned to life down my arm. The henchman, a moment before destined to leave with at worst a broken arm, evaporated in a cloud of fine mist. The city went dark, as the sudden surge of raw magical energy blew out every substation in a twenty kilometer radius. The drone likewise immediately fried, it's internal storage boiling away and with it any reference. My boots made heavy falls against the ground, not the heroic walk people expected, but the slow pace of someone who was used to being the predator. \n \n\"How?\" I asked evenly in the darkness, my eyes supernaturally enhanced to stare the man down. \n \n\"I-I-I hacked the Augment Monitoring Agency. They have a file, they found your Tome. They don't know you're Silver Star, but they're getting close. Their mistake is they haven't cross referenced the inconsistent medical and birth records you uploaded.\" My eyes, burrowed into his, and he raised his handed in the weakest approximation of a defensive pose. But perhaps I'd under estimated him. \n \n\"Can you delete the traces?\" My voice was cold, indifferent. I could find another way, but perhaps it was best to start fresh somewhere else. He nodded, slowly. \"Your wife left you, your daughter hates you. You are a failure to everyone here.\" My words were technically insults. \"But you'll die having killed Silver Star.\" I could feel him tense, and I nodded to the door. \"Grab what you must, this place will be gone in 5 minutes, and you start your new life.\" I walked to the door slowly, and turned around. \"Bring a coat though, it is cold where we are going.\" \n \nDoktor Shade, real name James Callihan ran after me, calling out quickly, \"Where are you- we, going?\" I stopped, turning to face him, my eyes two blue disks cutting through the darkness. I could kill him, leave him here and button this all up, but after a millennia and a quarter, it felt nice to have someone know me for who I was. So I answered him. \n \n\"Home.\"",
" \n\n\"Alright, the plan seems to be going smoothly so far.\" A man says behind her. She feels him gently tie her wrist together, horribly she might add. She may not have super strength like some of her allies, but she was sure any boy scout worth their salt could escape these binds. \"...I guess I managed to suppress her pyrokinesis.\"\n\nShe rolls her eyes and brings one leg over the other. Hey, if she is going to be here she might as well get comfy. The rope around her wrist finally manages to stay in place, and she feels his breath as he slowly rises. She shakes her head to hopefully suppress the blush as the man moves around to stand before her. How long did it take him to tie her wrists? Ten minutes? Fifteen? She watches as he straightens his tie and begins to dust off his vest. A nervous habit of his, and he always seemed to get nervous around her. Something she took great pleasure in these past few months. She suppressed a grin, and managed to turn it into a half hearted scowl.\n\n\"W-what are you going to do to m-me, Clover?\" her voice was a little shaky from trying to suppress a fit of laughter. He must of mistaken the stutter for fear, leaned in close with a smirk on his handsome face. Her heart skipped a beat and she turned away in embarrassment. She looked over to a table nearby with a bottle of amber liquid and some plastic cups. \"Are you going to make me drink more?\"\n\n\"Hehe I guess I should\" He leans back and walks away from her towards the table. He twist the cap off the bottle and begins pouring the contents into one of the cups. the stream hits the side of the cup, knocking it off the table, and spilling the stuff everywhere. She giggles as he curses and scrambles to wipe up the mess. Pulling a green handkerchief out of his pocket, he leans over the table and begins wiping up the mess. she grins stupidly admiring how his backside looked in those slacks. Good things never last, and he soon stands up with a cup in his hand. She quickly looks away, pretending to take interest in the several crates surrounding them. She hears steps approach as he fills her vision once more. \"Now, are you going to drink it like a good girl, or is daddy going to have to force you again?\"\n\nShe could tell by the look on his face that he was enjoying this moment of dominance, but little did he know that she was reveling it. She uncrossed her legs and rubbed her thighs together as she stared up at him. Not trusting herself to speak without clueing him in on her emotional state, she nods eagerly instead. She tilts her head back as he brings the edge of the cup to her lips. She slowly starts drinking and he smiles down at her.\n\n\"You fiend!\" She yells enjoying the sweet smile on his face, as well as the sweet taste in her mouth. This drink just so happened to be her favorite, but she needs to make a show of it effecting her. \"How'd you know apple juice is my greatest weakness!\"\n\n\"A little bird told me\" Clover said rubbing the back of his hand along her cheek.\n\nresist the urge to kiss his hand. \n\nHe slowly moves his hand up to swipe some loose hair out of her face before resting his palm along her cheek.\n\nResist it!\n\nShe leans into his touch and looks up into his gorgeous emerald eyes. His smile widens as he looks down at her like a lion would a gazelle. Well she managed to convince him that the apple juice puts her into a weakened state. Now if only she could convince herself that she did this for his self-esteem, and not for this wonderful feeling inside her chest."
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[WP] A high school bully with a seemingly strong superpower is defeated by the high school nobody using a seemingly mediocre superpower and cleverness.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Alex had the strongest superpower in the school. Everyone knew that. His flight speed was ridiculous, he could do a lap of the quarter mile track in under 2 seconds, and avoided causing a sonic boom while doing so. \n\nHis strength was so high, nobody had found anything he was unable to lift, and somehow he could lift things without causing any damage to them. Our Superpower Analysis teacher, Mr G, thought he had some sort of force field that extended over objects he tried to move, to prevent damage to them by distributing the force and acting as a cushion, but it only applied to force coming from Alex apparently, as any tests failed to find anything.\n\nHis toughness was ridiculous. Nothing the test used could damage him at all, and he couldn't even do damage to himself either, accidentally or on purpose.\n\nAnd on top of all of that, his mind was enhanced. He had perfect recall and increased thinking speed. He already had scholarships lined up to whatever school or hero academy he wanted to attend, after the results of his power testing were made public.\n\nIt's too bad he tried to hurt my little brother.\n\nYou see, I was a nobody. I got a really \"lame\" superpower of controlling every \"bug\" within about a mile around me. Sure, I had job offers from extermination companies and interesting offers from lobster, shrimp, and crab fishermen to be paid by the weight I delivered into their cages and nets. As a result of my \"creepy\" power, nobody wanted to hang out with me. So I just did my own thing, getting through school and ignoring everything unpleasant that Alex did to me. It was hard, especially when he started catching me alone in the bathroom in the second part of freshman year. But I ignored it, knowing nobody would do anything about someone with so much \"potential\" doing what he wanted to somebody who was useless.\n\nBut then I heard a scream. A familiar scream.\n\nYou see, when my brother started highschool, I begged Alex to just leave him alone and I would do whatever he wanted me to. No more retreating into my head, ignoring him while he did whatever he wanted.\n\nAnd I did. For my brother.\n\nSo as I sprinted into the bathroom I heard my brother screaming from, and saw that Alex was the one responsible for his screams... I freaked out. Every bug under my control, which covered most of the downtown area and a good portion of wilderness, began rushing to my position, the fliers picking up the ones that couldn't keep up. I calmly walked over to the window, stared at the lock keeping it shut for a moment, and shoved my fist through the glass, allowing my swarm to begin pouring into the bathroom. The sudden noise of broken glass alerted Alex to my presence, as well as my brother, who stopped screaming as Alex dropped him to the ground, and began sobbing softly. I turned to Alex, looking him directly in the eye, my swarm buzzing around me as ever increasing numbers of insects gathered outside and slowly poured into the room.\n\nAlex opened his mouth, a smirk in his eyes \"What are you doing freak? You know my power is better than yours, and you know I ***own*** this school because of it. Your stupid little request didn't mean shit to me, I do what I want \"\n\nMy face blank, my words bland, I simply said, \"You should have listened, Alex.\" and then my swarm was pouring down his open mouth into his lungs.\n\nHe immediately panicked, clutching at his throat. He even tried to shove his hand into his mouth, to scoop them out I guess, but his invulnerability prevented him from dislocating his jaw.\n\nIgnoring his panicked motions and sounds, barely audible above the buzz of my swarm, I walked over to my little brother and just pulled him into a hug.\n\nI felt Alex fall to the ground through my swarm, his motions stilling. I just kept hugging my brother, telling him it would be alright.\n\nAnd that's how the school security found us a few minutes later, the school nobody comforting his brother next to the corpse of the person with the \"strongest superpower to emerge within the past 100 years\"."
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[WP] For as long as you can remember going near the coast has been forbidden. No freight is carried across the oceans, fishing and sailing are banned, and there are certainly no beach resort vacations. Today you’re going to find out why.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I looked from the yellow nuclear fallout sign to the smuggled high school Geiger counter in my hand. The needle was still and uninterested. I put the device into the pocket of my raincoat and pulled out a pair of small wire cutters from my jeans. Their original home was my father's tool box. I bent down and began cutting the chainlink fence in front of me. I pushed through the makeshift hole and stood up. I was officially in the \"RAZ\". It had a double meaning. It stood for both \"Radiation Affected Zone\" and \"Restricted Access Zone\". This area, the three mile stretch of land from where I now stood to the ocean's shore, had been abandoned and designated as unsafe under possibility of death for as long as I could remember. My dad said people lived and worked here when I was a baby and when he was younger, but that was 16 or 17 years ago.\n\nI looked up at the graying skies and zipped my jacket up to my neck. I pulled the radiation counter back out from the pocket, glanced at meter, and started walking. The older folks and the books I've read said there was a geologic phenomena which caused a vein of irradiated material to be exposed to the ocean along the continental shelf. They said this deposit was uniform around the entire continent and everywhere from the waves to three miles inland were contaminated. I saw footage from the beginning and men in special suits dumping corpse sized bags into holes that swallowed everything. Thing was, I didn't believe it. Never sat right. And so far, my Geiger counter agreed with me.\n\nAs I made me way through the marshy lowlands towards the sea, through the reedy grass and the sucking mud, the first thing I noticed were birds. A flock of them flying high, dancing in the air. I checked my counter. Still nothing. This only emboldened me. A couple hundred feet on, I almost stepped on a nest. The mother bird waited until I was almost on her before she said anything. I walked down a little town road, cracked and sprouting grass from years of neglect. Houses and small stores were boarded up, paint chipped and peeling. Cars waiting for their owners to return. Every now and then, I caught a glimpse of a pack of dogs.\n\nI could hear the ocean before I saw it. I knew right away what it was. I had seen videos of waves lapping lazily at the shore, and the sound in those videos, while not a great representation, was close enough. And I heard it now. I could taste the salt in the air. I crawled on my belly up the grassy dune and peered nervously over the rise. I saw the ocean, grey-green and angry from the weather, lashing at the shore. But what I was most surprised about were the men walking the beach. They were alone in their work, but they were spread out evenly up and down shore. They each had buckets and were shoveling scoops of a wet, pink mass onto the beach. After they emptied what seemed to be the last of their chum, they retreated to a parked vehicle and drove away, back towards an abandoned seaside town in the distance. A horn blast ripped through the silence.\n\nAll along the shore, green bodies began pulling themselves from the ocean onto the sand. I couldn't make out many details, but they appeared to be vaguely human shaped, although they seemed a deal smaller. They also looked to be hairless and a wet sheen covered their bodies, like oil on water. Up and down the coast these bodies emerged, willing their way towards the line of pink chum in the sand. Then, from in front of me, I saw a great lumbering beast lurch from the waves. It looked to be as big as a bus and built just as sturdy. It had a pointed head and face, like a shark, with a long, muscular body sitting atop four legs. The legs looked to be flat and compressed, like the oars from a boat. It's skin the same shimmering green. It opened its mouth and roared, flashing rows of broken and jagged teeth. I looked into its eyes, black pinpricks of an ebony void. Out of nowhere, an arm wrapped around my chest from behind as a damp cloth was pressed into my face. After a few breaths, I drifted slowly into a warm fog.\n\nWhen I came to, I sat chained to a metal chair in a dark, damp room. One single lamp was all the decoration I was afforded. A door opened and a man in a white coat stepped into the room. He was older, my father's age, and had an air of distinguished academia about him.\n\n\"Why were you on the beach?\" he asked. His voice was calm. Gentle, even.\n\n\"I didn't believe in the radiation zone,\" I answered, trying to sound confident. \"What are those things?\" I asked.\n\n\"We don't know,\" the man in the coat replied. \"They started coming out of the water close to 18 years ago. They would wander into towns and take people. Children mostly, since they were of a similar size, but the creatures can take down adult humans, too, in a swarm. It's curious; they never went after animals,\" he trailed off before gathering his thoughts. \"The bigger ones you saw only started coming out of the water about 10 years ago. Luckily, the ones in the deep ocean don't come on land. I don't think we could stop them, if they did,\" the man admitted.\n\n\"That's why you closed the beaches. That's why we abandoned the oceans. But they seem under control,\" I said.\n\n\"We manage them the best we can. We have conditioned them to a feeding schedule and that seems to keep them satisfied,\" the man said. \"But we don't have them under control,\" he admitted. \"We still know nothing about them. Where they come from, why they're here, what they want. But that's why we continue to study them. And people like you make it very hard for our work to continue. We have to take time out of our busy schedules to lock down the containment breach and make sure everything is returned to its \"constant\" state.\"\n\n\"What's going to happen to me?\" I asked.\n\nThe man sighed. \"My poor boy. It's a shame your curiosity got the best of you.\"\n\nI felt the syringe push into my arm.\n\n\"It's curious,\" the man continued, \"they never went after the animals. They still don't, even when we chum the beaches. The creatures only eat human meat. We've tried so many different things, but man is the only thing they desire.\"\n\nI could feel my conscious slipping. A hazy black filled the edges of my vision. Another man entered the room carrying a hacksaw and burlap sack. I slumped in the chair. I realized I couldn't move or feel my arms or legs.\n\n\"It's a shame your curiosity got the best of you,\" the man said again before leaving the room.\n\nThe other man who entered unshackled me from the chair and I nearly fell out. He caught me and laid me on the floor. I blinked. It took longer than normal for my eyes to open again. I saw the man bend over to pick up the hacksaw. I saw him kneel by my knee. He cut the fabric of my pants from my skin and pressed the saw blade in the joint of my knee. I could feel my eyes getting heavy again. I saw him position himself and tighten his grip. He pulled the saw back and pushed forward in one fluid motion. I blinked."
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[WP] A pacifist is transported into the universe of a violent video game. The previous heroes are shocked when the pacifist gets to the end with zero casualties
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"In all his countless attempts and many battles of bloodshed and violence, he had never seen anyone actually make it to the end unscathed. People died then respawn at the start of the game, and have to work their way back up. Fighting one another until they make it to Safety Zone. If they ever make it. Though when this man in a tie came running past the barrier, Jax couldn’t believe his eyes, well, eye. He’d lost his hand and his eye and barely had enough points to replace the former. Meanwhile this little person comes out with nothing but a few stains and cuts? What was he even? He didn’t have a uniform nor battle armour, or a even a weapon on his person. He seemed like a normal human player, but Jax couldn’t be too certain in his assumption. He’d learnt not everything was what it looked like on his second attempt to get to Safety Zone. Even allies. \n\n“State your name and rank, solider,” Jax pointed his pistol at the man who was now holding his hands up. It may seem unnecessary, but he had encounter hackers and cheats before in this game, and it was his job to put them back at the start and disable their code.\n\n“P-pardon?” the man stammered.\n\n“I said,” Jax slowly approached him while pulling out a scanner from his pocket, “state your name.”\n\n“I don’t think I understand. Where am I?” \n\nWhen the device scanned the bizarre man, Jax dropped his pistol from his hand upon seeing the results:\n\nCharacter name. Smith \n\nSoldier rank. None \n\nAttempt no. 1\n\nCasualties. 0 \n\nCharacter type. Pacifist \n\nWeapons used. None\n\nScore. -100"
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[WP] You wish you were never born and in an "Its a Wonderful life" fashion an angel comes and shows around how what would happen if you never existed however to your surprise you see that someone has taken over your life
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\\[In the Spotlight\\]\n\n\"Why?\" A young woman with a light brown ponytail asked.\n\n\"Huh?\" Kate looked up. She was surprised to see someone, anyone, standing close enough to talk to her. Kate sat on a park bench wondering just how much more of life she could take. It was a cool, sunny Friday morning. It was objectively a beautiful day but Kate was too busy lamenting her problems to notice. She also didn't notice that she spoke aloud.\n\n\"You said you wish you were never born,\" the woman said. \"Why is that?\" Kate sighed. She didn't want pity; but, at the same time, she felt like she really needed it. Maybe a kind word from a stranger would help her get back on a positive track.\n\n\"Because I feel like I don't matter,\" Kate lowered her eyes to stare at the cement path. \"Never have, never will...,\" she whined. Kate hoped for kindness. Or at the very least, a warm smile before the young woman moved on from the sad sack on the park bench. Instead, she got a hearty laugh in exchange for opening up. Not only that, the stranger decided Kate was entertaining enough to sit down next to her.\n\n\"You don't!\" the stranger said with glee after her initial outburst died down. Then, for some reason, she extended a hand at Kate. \"I'm Elsa,\" she said.\n\n\"Kate,\" she tentatively shook Elsa's hand. Sure, Elsa made fun of her; but, she was also the only person that seemed interested in having a conversation with Kate in the past year. And, Kate wasn't a stranger to abusive relationships; assuming Elsa wanted a friend at all.\n\n\"Thanks for the pep talk,\" Kate added. \"I feel so much better.\" Elsa continued to giggle.\n\n\"No, really,\" Elsa said. Her giggles died down but she maintained a broad grin and amused, sparkling eyes. \"You want me to prove it?\" she asked. If Kate had not already been contemplating suicide, that question might have raised an eyebrow. Instead, she felt like she had nothing to lose.\n\n\"Sure,\" she shrugged. \"Show me how unimportant I am.\"\n\n\"You got it,\" Elsa snapped her fingers. Then, Kate blinked. She found herself in a hospital room. A younger version of her father held the hand of a younger, screaming, version of Kate's mother.\n\n\"PUSH!\" her father yelled, then, everyone froze and the room went quiet.\n\n\"This is the moment of your birth,\" Elsa said. Kate stared at her unmoving parents, then looked at Elsa.\n\n\"How....who or what are you?\" Kate asked. She was willing to accept that she may have gone crazy at the park. Or that maybe, she accomplished what she planned to do that day and this was just some version of her life flashing before her eyes. But, Elsa was there to talk to, so she asked her.\n\n\"That's kind of an [involved answer](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/i2zmpr/sp_your_roommate_is_death/),\" Elsa said. \"For now, the easy explanation is, I'm [Death](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/jml3g9/wp_death_has_to_collect_all_the_zombies_that/).\"\n\n\"Death, huh?\" Kate couldn't not believe her; she was standing in the past at the moment of her birth. \"It's about time. I've been hoping you'd show up,\" Kate said, she almost smiled at her own joke.\n\n\"And, I did!\" Elsa laughed.\n\n\"But, I wanted to never be born,\" Kate said. \"Killing me at birth just feels mean to my parents,\" she said.\n\n\"I'm not killing you. I'm showing you why you don't matter,\" Elsa replied. She reached forward and grasped at nothing in the air. Kate didn't see how it happened but the moment Elsa closed her hand she held a long pitch-black scythe. Then, she walked closer to Kate's mother and placed the flat side of it on her mother's stomach.\n\nAfter a moment, Elsa flipped the scythe over and rested the other flat end on Kate's mom. When she was satisfied, Elsa lifted the scythe and returned to Kate's side. The room roared to life again as Kate's mother continued her labor.\n\n\"And there you go, you're never born. Let's see how this turns out,\" Elsa said. A dozen questions flooded Kate's mind but she was distracted by a sudden blink. When she opened her eyes she was in her childhood room. It looked different, but she recognized the peeling wallpaper and stained brown carpet. She was surprised to see her 8-year-old self walk into the room. The little girl dropped a pile of clothes on the floor, then dashed out of the room again.\n\n\"You said I was never born...,\" Kate said.\n\n\"And you weren't,\" Elsa replied. \"She was, whoever she is.\"\n\n\"That's me!\" Kate said.\n\n\"Oh, damn. I might've done something wrong. Are you sure that's you? Were you this messy as a child?\" Elsa asked. The clothes on the floor fit in well with the decor of everything else being on the floor too.\n\n\"God no, I always kept things tidy,\" Kate replied. Which was true. It was why she chose to go to the park that day; she did not want to leave a mess behind in her apartment.\n\n\"Then, it's not you,\" Elsa replied.\n\n\"But she looks just like me!\"\n\n\"Really?\" Elsa asked. She tried to sound surprised, but Kate got the impression she was putting on a show. \"Let's check again a bit later.\" Kate blinked again. This time she opened her eyes to her own wedding.\n\n\"Yeah...I guess she does kind of look like you,\" Elsa said while appraising the bride in all black.\n\n\"Black wedding dress? What's wrong with her?\" Kate asked. \"I can't believe Jeff married someone that would wear a black wedding dress.\"\n\n\"You mean he's not marrying you?\" Elsa asked. Her voice carried a hint of smugness, but, Kate was okay with that. She started to feel like she was understanding Elsa's lesson.\n\n\"So..., my parents had a baby. And that baby is going to marry Jeff no matter what? Whether or not my soul is in that baby?\" Kate offered her guess. Elsa smiled, then Kate blinked. They were back at the park and Elsa's scythe was gone.\n\n\"I wouldn't say 'no matter what',\" Elsa said once Kate got her bearings. \"But for the most part, yeah. It's not something I go around talking about, but I think it'll help you. Time is kind of like TV show. Before you see it, the route to the end is already planned out. If someone doesn't show up, they get replaced.\"\n\n\"So, nothing I do matters?\" Kate asked.\n\n\"Not really, no. Life goes on.\"\n\n\"Then, what's the point?\"\n\n\"There isn't one,\" Elsa said with a large grin. \"That's why you get to make up your own.\"\n\n\"But what if-,\" Kate's question was interrupted.\n\n\"What if what?\" she asked. \"I *just* proved that nothing matters. Actually, that's wrong too, there is one thing that matters.\"\n\n\"What?\" Kate asked.\n\n\"YOU are *here*. You're ON THE SHOW!\" Elsa said. \"It's your chance to do whatever you want to do. Whether you do it or not, it doesn't make a difference. So, you've got to decide if you're going to try to enjoy being on stage or resent not knowing the routine, that no one cares about, until you're out of time.\n\n \n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\nThank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1212 in a row. (Story #116 in year four.) You can find all my stories collected on my subreddit ([r/hugoverse](https://www.reddit.com/r/hugoverse/)) or my blog."
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[WP] Technology took over magic. You are the director of the last magical school thats about to close. As a last efford you create a worldwide problem that is only solveable by magic
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"With the world shall now know, the power of the pink elephant! With this magnificent creature terrorizing the world. No one technology can stop magic from solving this problem! \n\nThe pink elephant was released, set into the sky. Run my child, destroy! Destroy the machinery that made us obsolete. \n\nYour ears can produces tornados, your trunk that spews tsunamis, but the most powerful magic of them all, your thunder stop. A loud crash from your feet that splits the skies and cracks the earth. With your terror rising upon the world, I shall be the one to save them all! Not some Complex machinery!\n\n*Pink elephant terrorizing the city*\n\nLooks like the elephant is desolating those skyscrapers. That is good because the more disaster, the more likely I can see more like a hero. \n\nAh yes how can I forget! How can I save the civilizes if they don't know who I am. I shall practice my hero name once I save them!\n\n\\*Eh hem\n\nMY NAME IS THE ANCIENT WIZARD! I HAVE COME TO SAVE YOU!\n\nWITH MY HUMBLE POWERS I SHALL SAVE YOU CIVILANS FROM THIS TERRIBLE TRAGEDY! \n\nWHERE WAS YOUR STUPI-I MEAN VERY NICE MACHINERY KNOW?!\n\nOh! I been caught up with my monologue I forgot to stop the elephant. \n\nOh god, what have I done. The elephant practically destroyed most of the city!\n\n*VROOOOOOOMMM*\n\nWhat was that? \n\nIs that a jet plane?\n\nSomething is coming out of it, is that a laser beam?\n\n....\n\nNO! my Elephant!",
"“Desperate times call for drastic measures,” the alchemist, Talowin, said as he used a large spoon to mix a sickly looking ooze of a liquid together.\n\n“You can’t do this, sir! It isn’t right! It’s not fair on them!” \n\nThe angry scraping of wood to the stone floor of Talowin’s laboratory interrupted his focus and he turned his gaze over to the test subject tied to a chair. Rocking back and forth to free themselves. Talowin sneered his fangs and went back to his potion, examining it to see what else it needed. He stroked his chin and hummed. More Wolfsbane Essence perhaps? No, no. That would kill them. He needed them alive if he were to save his very life blood work he’d help keep alive for over a thousand years. \n\n“Sir, please. Have mercy on them.”\n\n“Will you please be quiet?” Talowin hissed while looking over his vials of poisons and their antidotes. He grabbed a small bottle labeled ‘*Ivy Blood*’ and poured a generous amount into a silver teaspoon at his work station. Adding it with precision, care and steadiness. It made the thick potion turn to a deep green once he stirred it into the mixture, though it still wasn’t ready it. Not yet. \n\n“You said you were better than this!” his test subject spat. “That you kind were different!” \n\n“My kind *gave* you magic. If it weren’t for us, you would be *nothing*.”\n\nHis test subject continued to squirm in their chair while he looked around for more ingredients for his potion. They didn’t understand. He was doing this for everyone’s sake. The world needed magic, it needed them. Without them, they would dissolve from these new creations of impending failure humans had invented for themselves. The very thought of it made Talowin’s tail whip viciously through the air and his scales burn like the fire in his belly. Humans needed dragons and their magic, even if they didn’t realise it.\n\nMixing various powdered herbs, crushed writhing creatures, and many liquids into the cauldron, a grin formed across Talowin’s scaly face.\n\n“Let me go!” \n\nTalowin ignored them and took a small spoonful of the translucent potion and moved towards his deputy gingerly, as not to spill it. \n\n“Stay away from away from me, you disgusting snake.”\n\nTalowin grabbed his test subject’s fleshy chin and squeezed it tightly in his talons. “Open wide.” \n\nTalowin wrenched open the human’s mouth and forced his potion down their throat. Forcing them to swallow it and stepped back with eagerness. Before him they convulsed in their chair and foamed at the mouth, flesh moving along the body and seemingly melting on the bone. Talowin smiled wider to see his test subject dissolve into a mindless creature that drooled and snapped at the air with its teeth. He rubbed his claws together and a blue aura lit up his palm. He held them close to his face and spoke ancient words of raw magic into them while small flames flickered from his tongue. An orb of gentle light formed in his claws and glinted off his monocle. When he crushed it, it shattered like glass and turned into a light blue smoke that filled the air and made his creation rock violently in their chair and start to change once again. Their flesh moving and foam in the corner of their mouth fading. A moment passed and the human had returned, calm and serene. \n\n“Talowin?” they asked, cocking their head. “Why am I tied up?”\n\nHe grinned giddily at his result and rushed to the shelves for a large fat vial and dipped it into the cauldron. This was it. The solution and way he could bring balance back. All he needed was to let the clouds evaporate it, and watch the world fall into chaos so the dragons could save it."
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[WP] "Earth and most of her people were wiped out ages ago. Those that could make it out fled Sol, but now we decided to come back for what was left of our first home. We learned almost as soon as we touched down on solid rock that we should NOT have come back here."
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"It didn’t take long. \n  \n  \n \n The memory of what had been left behind had lingered with those generations after they had left the Sol System. The memories and tales of a planet that in essence was under the thumb of humanity, had been reclaimed. The ancients spoke of a time where flat surfaces of black tarmac would stretch from one side of a country to another. Of buildings built from purified materials, made in such a way to tower over the men that created them. None of what was described had been visible. There at the top of a plateau was a landing space for their craft. What they assumed would be a sight for sore eyes ended up being a site to to cause sore eyes. The plateau from the space station was meant to be a lot flatter than initially assumed. The flora that surrounded it was grassland and low forms of foliage. \n  \n  \n \nHubris had been the catalyst for their departure and it would be their introduction to the new world that they so boldly assumed was theirs. Bold as ever, they assumed that the mix of oxygen and nitrogen would be exactly the same as they’d left it. The theatrics that followed their landing was quickly and rudely interrupted by a cacophony of struggling breaths and hacking coughs. The fragile humans that had initially assumed all was well, found themselves lying face down in what they figured would be dirt, the first to die in centuries on their so called home planet.\n  \n  \nHours later, a team was allowed to leave the shuttle, with the initial precautions that were warned of from the obscure scientific community that was attached to the expedition. They had reluctantly given the stockpiled attire for surviving the surface of the Earth as if it were a foreign planet. To their dismay the scientific collective had also been bullied out of all their suits, giving them only one suit left to use between them. The boldest of them donned the suit and found himself unaccustomed to the rest of the group that would be his expedition crew. He had been given the smallest tank of oxygen regardless of his overwhelmingly lanky and fragile form. They, the camera crew sent to create positive press for the expedition, were small, stocky, and almost entirely self absorbed. Each one had chosen the suits on a whim, regardless of height differences and had allowed the scientists from the low gravity worlds, prepared them for the excursion. Not without the thinly veiled vehement and obnoxious remark against those they considered lesser beings.\n  \n  \nAs they left the craft they looked around in awe at the plateau, stretching towards the sheer cliff faces down towards the grasslands below. The cameras had been pulled out and attached to thin sticks to showcase their faces within the misshapen helmets wanting to be the first to broadcast to the rest of the colonies that they were the first to arrive back home. And in an instant, as the cameras started to roll the suits themselves, began to vent the precious air, creating a hissing sound that only proved to muffle the televised screams. \n  \n  \nThe lone scientist looked on in horror, scrambling towards a thin handheld stick with a small camera device propped at the end. He looked dead into the camera, eyes fearful trying to document the last moments of those around him. He looked on, trying to adjust the suits and reconnect the hoses to their tanks, trying earnestly to patch holes left on the suits, venting more and more air. He looked down at the mass of bodies and let out a whimpering cry, the broadcast bringing a silent horror to those back on the earth colonies galaxies away. There within his sobs, the slight hint of a laugh began to creep through the broadcast. The darkness that had come from him dropping the camera onto the stone plateau, brightening up again.\nThe thin form had pulled off his helmet and slicked bad his hair, his eyes gleaming as he looked back dead into the camera. \n  \n  \n“We followed you off of the planet, embedded ourselves amongst your communities. Built your trust and allowed ourselves to be ostracized amongst your people to work in peace. And all this to bring us back to where it all began. Oh how long we’ve been waiting to report back so that we could find you again and destroy what was left of your pitiful race.” \n  \n  \nHe paused maintaining an almost deathly glare at the camera, feeling his eyes piercing the souls of those seeing the broadcast. The one broadcast that all of humanity had been waiting for. \n  \n  \n“You should not have returned. Thankfully you did. And now, now we can finally finish this disgraceful chapter.”"
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[WP] "Be careful when your ship passes Jupiter. There's dangerous things out there." "Like what? Asteroids?" "No. Like the Spacefaring Dutchman."
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"The what?\"\n\n \"The Spacefaring Dutchman.\"\n\n \"Stop joking around.\"\n\n \"No, I'm serious.\"\n\n I look at the spaceport receptionist with an annoyed glare.\n\n \"We've lost 3 cargo ships to it this year. Don't make it a fourth.\"\n\n \"Isn't that an old Earth legend? The.. erm...\"\n\n I rack my memories from history class.\n\n \"The Flying Dutchman! The old, haunted naval ship.\"\n\n \"Yes, like that. Just stay out of low orbit and you'll be fine. Now carry on.\"\n\n He authorizes my crew card and I walk off with it in my hand. I head to the dock and board our Courier Class ship set course for Titan. I sit down in my seat infront of the Navigation terminal, and adjust the flight course to steer ourselves just out of low Jupiter orbit. We can't be too careful, can we?\n\n The Captain strides in, refreshments in hand.\n\n \"You guys take a seat, let me-\"\n\n \"I've already set the course, let the autopilot do its thing.\"\n\n \"Aye. No need to be so stern.\"\n\n He bounds over to the main control panel, observing the course.\n\n \"Why aren't we set for low orbit? The gravity won't give us a strong enough boost to get us to Titan.\"\n\n What now? What do I tell him? I can't blame it on \"ooh spooky ghost space pirates!\" I'll look like a dunce. \n\n \"Maybe an error I made? I stayed up last night doing maintenance work on the thrusters.\"\n\n Cap'n gives me an eye roll and readjusts the course for low orbit. \"All set, let's roll.\"\n\n As I hear the engines in the back warm up and the faint hiss of hydraulics from the spaceport dock close, Cap turns the dial to his favourite station. Hard heavy metal blasts through the speakers.\n\n He mouths an expletive and turns the volume down. We both strap ourselves in and we set off. The force pushes me back hard into my seat as the hull of the ship groans.\n\n \"You want raisin flavour or water?\"\n\n \"Water. I can't stand raisin.\"\n\n He throws me a ration bar and I get to eating quickly. The though of the stupid myth the receptionist told me is still at the back of my mind. \n\n Just then a blip appears on the radar.\n\n It's approaching quickly.\n\n The radio is quickly becoming a garbled mess of static and we both look at eachother.\n\n \"What the he-\"\n\n A jolt shakes both of us in our seats as something shoots at us. The shields take a massive hit and the lights flicker.\n\n \"Are there any weapons onboard?\"\n\n \"No, this is a courier class ship. We're civilians, not military!\"\n\n \"More power to the engines, we have to go!\"\n\n \"That'll shut down our lights, are you sure?\"\n\n \"DO IT!\"\n\n We are plunged into darkness and silence arises between the two of us. I look out of the window towards the giant of Jupiter. Another shot hits us and the engines cut off for a second as the shields try to stay online. This time the jolt is stronger as the only defense we have is quickly failing.\n\n \"We're halfway to Saturn, don't fail me now, you beaut!\" Cap bangs on the desk.\n\n I look back at the screen and find the blip is slowly retreating to.. somewhere.\n\n \"Captain.\"\n\n \"Captain.\"\n\n \"What?\"\n\n \"We're safe. The blip is gone.\"\n\n \"Wait, really?\"\n\n \"Oh, oh thank heavens. We're not dead.\"\n\n \"We're not dead!\"\n\n We high five eachother and Cap shows me a stash of alcohol.\n\n \"What's that?\"\n\n \"Ice cold beer.\"\n\n I look at him in confusion.\n\n \"What's beer?\"\n\n \"Whatever. I'll tell you about it when we dock at Titan and unload. We'll be able to afford a bigger ship with more cargo space after this. Then we'll..\"\n\n \"We'll uh, ...\"\n\n \"We'll sell the old ship.\"\n\n He's quite obviously unenthusiastic about selling it. Sure, it's a heap of junk. But it's *our* heap of junk. Oh well. Log end.\n\n u/Smidgent"
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[WP] You’ve been kidnapped. 30 mins later your kidnapper dumps you on the street because you won’t stop talking about
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Hi u/user12345678654, this submission has been removed.\n\n**Simple Question / Simple Answer**: You asked a simple question and you're likely to get a simple answer. Responses must be at least 100 words. Prompts should encourage a story or poem. \n\n \n\n* *This was removed [based on the comments it's likely to attract](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_7.3A_prompts_will_be_removed_if_there.27s_a_high_possibility_for_rule_breaking_responses), specifically via [Rule 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_1.3A_direct_prompt_replies_must_be_good-faith_attempts_at_new_stories_or_poems)*\n\n---\n\n**No recent reposts, even if changing small details** Also, no [copy-cats](http://i.imgur.com/38FjDgW.gifv).\n\nSearch before submitting as popular ideas can cause floods. If your idea is based on something you read elsewhere on reddit, chances are it's been submitted here already. Please wait at least 2 weeks before reposting.\n\n \n\n\n\n* *[From Rule 5: No recent reposts, even if changing small details](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_5.3A_no_recent_reposts.2C_even_if_changing_small_details)*\n\n---\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/n0t9h6/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/config/sidebar) before posting. \n\n*This action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things.*"
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[WP] You are a potion selling NPC. You have heard the tales of adventurers for so long that you feel like you might be able to take on an adventure yourself.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Heroes come and heroes go through our lands. My life has always been a bore between their visits, I couldn't tell you how we passed the time. When a hero arrives, the town comes into focus so vividly, so quickly. We all crane our necks to see the new rogue, the new avenger, the latest man of action. The first conversation is always a delight. Heroes can be remarkably curious and often won't leave a conversation without exhausting my limited knowledge of the world. I always enjoyed these conversations. Repeat visits seem to be less and less valuable. Our meetings are purely transactional. I feel as if pleasantries are pushed aside or even skipped with impatience. Cutting to the chase and uninterested in so many of my wares. Soon enough the hero won't be returning at all. We hear the reports, of course. And over time the hero's impact on this world trickle down to my little corner as well. The burning of the fields, the freedom from our overlords, the celebration of a nasty troll beheaded that would no longer stalk our sewers. \n\nI've always been great with potions, had a knack for mixing and acquiring the right components for a wide variety of uses. Healing, bewildering, fighting, loving, even some concoctions that are more harmful than good. Heroes tend to be specific in their needs, and rarely are interested in more than one use case. I've often felt that they would profit from a variety of elixirs and mixes but they don't seem to care. Sometimes they ask, sometimes they tell. I've never felt I had the ability to say anything in response. \n\nSo how did I end up on the legendary road of the middle passage, no longer selling but using my potions in pitched battles? That's a damn good question. Somewhere, in that easy to forget time between visiting heroes, my town was upended and rearranged. The shopkeep was mysteriously stuck between his front door and the vestibule of his shop. He made great efforts to return but was only able to turn in circles in that same loping stride of his that he used to show heroes around his shop. The blacksmith fared much worse as his body was stuck inexplicably in the roof of his barn. Still swinging his hammer mightily he wouldn't respond to a thing. For myself, I was fortunate, and not. I was moved just slightly, only a few feet in front of my potion stand. But those feet made all the difference that any distance could. It dawned on me instantly how confined my life was until this moment. I was somehow freed from a cage I hadn't even known existed. The street, I realized, was more than just the path that heroes traveled, it was a branch to a tree the world over. I rushed down it before I could be locked again.\n\nThe road brought excitement and confusion. I was excited to see familiar faces as I neared the edge of town. But the faces were too familiar. I tried speaking to the butcher, the tailor, the armorer and asked them how they too were freed and set up shop. But all they had were the same lines they spoke to heroes. They didn't seem to notice the strangeness at all. A begged them follow me to see what was beyond the town's edge but they kept to their new posts as they'd done inside the city all of their lives. As I turned and ran I encountered a small group of guards. Guards were regularly patrolling the city, sometimes engaged with heroes, sometimes enraged by heroes. This group seemed to approach me with caution. They grunted and reached for their weapons. I held my breath and braced for the pain. But each of them, making a similar crab walk movement, grunted and threatened but slowly made their way around me. My heart was pounding. My throat was dry. It was the best god damned moment of my entire life.\n\nI ran now, for now, I could run. The road narrowed sharply after leaving the city, it winded up the hillside and along a ridge. I paused to look back at the city, its colors now blocky, losing itself to a mistiness in broad daylight. I turned back and felt a new sensation. A bloody howl burst through the silence. I may have felt it before hearing it, as my shirt was now heavy, my brow soaked, from running or terror I do not know. I turned to the woods and out of the green rolling hills they came. \n\nI had heard these beasts described many times. From my potion cart I was near the fur trader who had paid many heroes for their Beurhound hides. I must have hear his comment a thousand times \"More men are in these hides than selling them. Nasty brutes in a pack.\" To a hero, these beasts were a means to an end. A few dozen hides would fetch enough coin to open some doors or replace a breastplate. To me they were hell on four legs. Grey and thick, a Beurhound looks like an ordinary dog from a distance. But as they near, the grotesque head comes into view. A long-nosed gorilla might be the best illustration and makes sense with their front legs having hands instead of paws. You only see the hands of you are close enough to be killed or see one lashed stiffly to the back of a horse.\n\nMy freedom would be ending before it began if I could not find a way off this road. Oh how I wished for my cart, my small circle of life, my feet that couldn't move but wouldn't ever need to run. But in that moment I also thought of the last advice a hero asked of me. He had inquired about a potion to kill small animals. Liquified choke root, I had recommended. I reached into my sash and felt a half dozen bottles. One was choke root the others were, well, others. I threw them one by one at the rapidly shrinking ground between myself and the four Beurhounds bearing down on me. The first bottle crashed and purple spirits floated freely. Mist haven! The first Beurhound swiped at the purple mist and crashed into the ground, it rolled forward with a confused look. Mist haven would send that beast on a one way trip to la la la land. It turned and chased a bee off into the grass. The next bottle was empty, just a spare. The next bottle was choke root. It hit the ground and spread wildly in every direction. Like blackened earth after a wildfire without smoke, the ground became like charcoal to the hands and paws of the Beurhounds. They bounded a few more steps and I began to doubt the efficacy of my own potions. But another step and snarl and each of the beasts began wheezing. They stopped running to cough. Wild fits of coughing turned to gasps and finally to wheezing and silence.\n\nI had brought my knee up to my stomach and both my arms over my face in the final moments. With the silence I could still feel the heat of the hounds just before me. I looked out for a moment and took in the unbelievable sight. Three Beurhounds. A nice accomplishment for any new hero passing through town. Tradeable for almost any basic sword, even a worthy horse. Killed by me, the potion seller. \n\nI had not noticed but a farmer and his child had come over near the end. They both were clapping and hopping around me now. Cheering but not speaking. They seemed to revel in my accomplishment. Was this the life of a hero?",
"It had been years, eleven in fact, since I was thrown into this strange world. Created, not with free will in my design, but for the sole purpose of selling potions to... him, the guy, the playable character. He pranced in and out in his ridiculous outfits, selling me whatever he wished, hundreds of the same item, borderline garbage, I had no choice but to pay him for all of it. Even if I did have a choice, what fool would refuse this man, if he is even a man. More times than not he is wearing armor that demons only wear, several times I could swear I’d seen him setting the entire village on fire through my window, but I blink and no such thing has happened, it must be a premonition of his power from the gods, or creators of this purgatory I live in. So I stand behind this counter, I let this galavanting buffoon do what he wishes, put a bucket on my head while he robs me blind while I pretend nothing strange is going on. Really what could I do with anything in here anyway, it’s not like I can leave. But one day, something... different happened. The adventurer with the power of a god came barging in like he owned the place. I instinctively rattled off one of my five or so greetings about what I had, and our dear traveler throws out his usual demand of, “Hello potion seller, I’m going into battle, and I want your strongest potions.” I’d had my same, gods be damned, monotonous phrases for so long, I almost blurted out “I have several elixirs for sale.” Like I had 1000 times before, but it simply... wasn’t there. I didn’t have the compulsion to say it, I could do what I wanted, say what I wanted the power was mine! I had this arrogant ass by the balls, finally! My reply came “my potions are too strong for you traveler”... well that was kind of lame, but let’s roll with it see where it goes. A confused look fell over our hero, hesitantly he replied “potion seller... I tell you I’m going into battle, and I want only your strongest potions.” I had taken him off guard, the advantage was mine, “you can’t handle my potions, they’re too strong for you.” His confusion was clear but he pressed on, “potion seller, listen to me... I want only your strongest potions.” Still, I did not relent “My potions would kill you traveller, you cannot handle my potions.” Still the blagard would not relent “potion seller, enough of these games, I’m going into battle, and I need your strongest potions.” Over my scorched and smoldering body would he get these potions “My strongest potions would kill you traveller, you’d better go to a seller who sells weaker potions.” At this point I feared for my life, whatever miserable life I had, but I could see a twinkle of interest in his eye, he knew this world like the back of his hand, and I could see that no one had talked to him in this fashion before, and so he pressed on, “Potion seller, I’m telling you right now, I’m going into battle, and I need only your strongest potions.” Well if I was going to defy the “great one” I may as well dive in head first, so I held fast, “You don’t know what you ask traveller,my strongest potions would kill a dragon, let alone a man! You need a seller who sells weaker potions, because my potions, ARE TOO STR- a deafening roar erupted from the maw of the cat man on the verge of deity, a force as if I had been punched by a hurricane catapulted me into the back wall of my humble shop with more power than I had ever thought possible, I fell to the ground like some doll made of rags, sure that the number of bones in my body had been doubled at the minimum, I had reached the end of the maniacal psychopaths patience, oh well, at least things had changed, and that made it worth the agonizing pain I now felt. As I swam into unconsciousness I could have sworn I saw him rifling through my chest that had what, 12 gold pieces? “Miserly bastard” I chuckled to myself before fading into nothing."
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[WP] Time travel is not possible, but you work for an agency that made an app allowing agents to contact folks from the past via text messages. As an agent you talk to past persons to help mitigate terrible disasters. The hardest part is finding the disaster--since success means it never happened.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Hello, can you hear me? Mr. Donovan?\" the phantom voice came from all around William. He was finally going crazy, it only took ten years of overwork and no sleep.\n\n\"Who's there?\" he called out. He could hear the chuckles of another engineer at the other side of the pumphouse, echos carrying both voices through the concrete room.\n\n\"Excellent, I'm the operator with HapHazard Hamperers. Mouthful, I know. It's a name in progress, we apologize. How a name of a company in the future can be in progress, I try not to dwell on.\"\n\n\"What's happening?\"\n\n\"I have you at San Fernando Valley, Van Norman reservoir. Is all that correct?\" the cheery voice coming from inside his head asked.\n\n\"Yes, now what is going on?\" he whispered, not wanting others to hear him. \"I'm going crazy, right. You're a voice in my head.\"\n\n\"I assure you not, sir, just a phone call from the capital.\"\n\n\"Well, that does a lot to reassure me.\"\n\n\"You should be seeing the terminal soon. I'm going to patch you forward to a text-based conversation with an HH agent from the year 2047. Have a nice day and good luck.\"\n\nWilliam indeed saw text, bright white floating just in front of his vision.\n\n'Connecting...Connecting...Connecting...Connect established! 1971 to 2047 tunnel link!'\n\n'Hello, Mr. Donovan. Can you read this?'\n\nA keyboard appeared hovering just below the words, made of that same soft floating light. The keys felt real as he touched them.\n\n'Yes' he typed.\n\n'How full is the resivour at this moment?'\n\nWilliam couldn't believe he was doing it but he checked the readout on the logbook and typed a response. Best to lean into the crazy. At least he wasn't making him run naked through the street, yet at least. \n\n'Nearly full'\n\n'Okay, that's not good. An earthquake is going to hit in two days and the Dam fails. The only reason millions of people aren't killed in a massive flood is that the Van Norman Dam reservoir is only half full when it happens. I believe you're the man that makes that happen.'\n\n'How do you know this?'\n\n'A lot of trial and error, believe me. Averting a disaster that from my point of view is already averted is a real guessing game, but looks like I struck big with you. Now, can you lower the reservoir level to half?'\n\n'I could open the flood slush gates and backfill it, yes. To do it safely I'd need 24 hours.'\n\n'Well, that's plenty of time. Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but 6:00:55 a.m. PST on Feb. 9 is the time the Earthquake starts. Just a little heads up since you've been so easy to work with. Normally it takes an hour just to get them to stop screaming and type.'\n\n'What can I say, I'm quick to believe I've gone insane.'\n\nWilliam released the slush gate and the water started pouring out of the reservoir.\n\n'\\*wink\\*' the screen read before clearing from his view.\n\nWilliam called in sick the rest of that week. Two days later, his wife was screaming beside him as the house rumbled, waking them both. But William wasn't screaming, William was laughing like a loon.\n\n/r/surinical",
"In another life, you could’ve been a surgeon, working with those delicate neurons and grey matter. \n\nIn yet another, you might’ve been an aerospace engineer, tightening those nearly microscopic bolts, making a machine to search for life beyond our own. \n\nIn another still, you would’ve been a clockmaker, looking at hairsprings and pillar plates, crown wheels and pallet forks. \n\nAll of those things are more fruitful. You would’ve had awards. Publications. Funding. Even handing a restored pocket watch to a client brings a certain sort of joy. \n\nAnd yet you chose this life. A life of hunting down disasters that never happened. A life of working day in and day out without an ounce of gratitude.\n\nI’d like to ask you why you picked this life, but I think I already know. I’m sure you do too. \n\nIf I did ask, you’d tell me you like it because you like complicated things. While that’s not a lie, that’s not the truth, either. You’ve always been able to see that bigger picture. To spread out all the data and find patterns and anomalies. To pull a single grain of dust out of the gears and watch as the system flows smoothly once more. \n\nYou’re good at your job—perhaps the best, even. \n\nBut you could’ve moved on by now. You could’ve started your own company. Hell, you could’ve marketed your skills to CEOs and world leaders, promising them the highest profits they’ve ever seen or election campaigns that were guaranteed to be a success. \n\nYou didn’t. \n\nI don’t think you did it out of any moral stance. Forgive me if that’s harsh. It’s only that you’ve never shied away from pulling the strings before. So why now?\n\nIt might be arrogant to assume that you’ve stuck around her because of me, but I’m going to believe that anyway. \n\nI got your text again this morning. *Avoid the L train today,* you wrote. *Let’s hope this is finally the answer.* \n\nIt took me a few moments to form my reply. *Fingers crossed,* I wrote back. There isn’t much else to say aside from that. Every day we miss is a day closer to my death. Every day we miss is a day closer to the disaster, the one you refuse to describe, so I must assume it’s something unspeakably awful. \n\nI’m not sure how far in the future you are. It could be months. It could be years and years. \n\nWherever you are, please know that when I imagine a future, I imagine a future where we are together. I’m counting on you to make that happen. Don’t let me down. Please.\n\nDo what you’ve been trying to do for the last three years—save me. \n\n\n---\n\nr/liswrites",
"The phone rang.\n\nWithout taking my eyes off the screen in front of me, I picked it up and held it between my head and shoulder.\n\n“Talkback Industries. This is Agent Carlisle.”\n\nInternally, I sighed as I did every day. Dr. Gardner may have been a wealthy genius that gave us our start, but his naming left much to be desired. *I* certainly thought that Talkback was far too whimsical of a name for what we did, and I wasn’t alone.\n\n\n“Uh huh. Uh huh. Uh huh,” I responded automatically as the other person on the line chattered. “National emergency tip-off? Uh huh. No, ma’am, there’s no bounty. Uh huh. Uh huh. No, I’m afraid we can’t pay you anything even if—”\n\nThe line went dead.\n\nThis time I sighed out loud as I placed the handset back into the cradle.\n\nMeyers chuckled at the desk across from me. “Dud tip?” she asked.\n\n“Probably,” I said. “She refused to tell me anything until I wired her a thousand bucks. It’s like these people don’t even know how this works.”\n\nI doodled absent-mindedly on my memo pad for a moment, my mind numbed by the drudgery of the daily grind.\n\n“What about you?” I asked. “Got any helpful leads today?”\n\nMeyers pulled a face. “Nah. Needed to take a day off on Friday to take the kids into the dentist, so Thompson has me griefing today.”\n\n“Oof,” I said, wincing sympathetically. “How many have asked to hear back?”\n\n“Every single one,” she replied, rubbing her forehead tiredly.\n\n“Causality is a bitch,” I said, and she smiled. It had been Talkback’s unofficial motto since the company began. What we did wasn’t time travel, not really. We talked to the past and we hoped that the past listened. Or, rather, we *knew* that the past listened because then the past never happened.\n\nI think.\n\n“When was the last time you were even on griefing, Carlisle? I feel like you’ve spent the last year moaning about trawling through police reports, but I’ve never once heard you complain about someone asking to hear back from their dead estranged mother.”\n\nI tapped my chin mock-thoughtfully. “Has your husband ever shrunk an entire load of laundry that you had to toss or donate?”\n\n“Only once,” Meyers said, a confused look on her face. “Why— oh.” Understanding dawned and she glared at me for a moment. “Jesus, Carlisle, what did you do?”\n\n“A magician never reveals his secrets,” I said with a wink.\n\nMeyers rolled her eyes.\n\nI chuckled and turned back to my work. My computer screen was full of news stories about narrowly avoided disasters that a different division of the company had tagged and sent to me for review. Most of them were dead leads, much like the earlier phone call. A few minutes of careful investigation would reveal that it was really an attentive operator who had stopped the industrial accident or a well-meaning pedestrian that had pulled the old lady out of the road. Every now and then, though…\n\n“Now *this* is interesting,” I said.\n\n“What is it?” Meyers asked.\n\n“Bridge collapse in Mississippi. Apparently, someone ran from a town fifteen miles away and laid in the middle of the road to stop traffic before it fell.”\n\n“No casualties?”\n\nI skimmed the news article. “Er… not exactly. It seems like the traffic one way was blocked from getting on the bridge, but in the other direction they were prevented from *leaving* the bridge.”\n\n“You’re kidding me,” Meyers said. “And you have to message him?”\n\n“He says that he just had a gut feeling,” I said, grinding my teeth. “And that’s the marker I tell people to use.” I looked up the man’s number and pulled out my phone.\n\n>Bridge about to collapse in near Hopewell. You need to stop traffic. Tell news you just had a gut feeling.\n\nI sent the message. “You know, sometimes I really hate this job,” I said.\n\n“Pay is good, though,” Meyers said. “My kids’ college funds have never looked better.”\n\n“I should get some of those.”\n\n“What, kids?”\n\n“No, funds. Need to stop blowing all my money on bad stocks.”\n\n“You’re a moron, Carlisle,” Meyers said, rolling her eyes.\n\n“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “At least it’s been a boring year. No international incidents or terrorist attacks or near world-ending misunderstandings in at least a month or two. It’s all been faulty airplane parts, bad infrastructure…”\n\n“There was that one fire at the nuclear power plant,” Meyers offered. “Isn’t that enough fun for you?”\n\n“Not when it was stopped by one janitor with a bucket of water and a ‘gut feeling’,” I replied. “I signed up for excitement. Adventure. The world is getting too peaceful.”\n\n“Be careful what you wish for, Carlisle,” she said. “I *like* boring.”\n\n“I suppose you’re right,” I sighed. “Kinda makes me a bad person to wish for things to go wrong. After all, the whole job is preventing…”\n\nMy phone buzzed. It was a message. I opened it up, looked at the number, and frowned.\n\n“Something wrong?” Meyers asked.\n\n>Run. Get out of the building immediately. Do not tell anyone.\n\n“Carlisle?”\n\nI glanced up, blood draining from my face. “It’s— uh…”\n\nMeyers frowned, her brow furrowed. “Are you okay? You look sick. I told you to not get the gas station sushi, even if you got to pre-bust the drug dealers out back.”\n\nMy mind warred with itself for a moment as I stared at Meyers. Though I could only see the backs of the frames on her desk, I knew that they were full of pictures of her sons.\n\n“Yeah,” I heard myself say. “I think I’ve got food poisoning. Need to head to the bathroom. Be back in a bit.”\n\nI stood up shakily and speed-walked out of the office. When I hit the hallway, I began to sprint. I didn’t stop until I was at least five blocks away from the building. Even then, the blast felt like an enormous shove from behind, knocking me to the ground. My palms scraped on the sidewalk below and began to bleed.\n\nWith a groan, I rolled over and pulled out my phone. The screen cracked from where I landed on it, but it was still working. I opened the Talkback app and typed out a message.\n\n>Run. Get out of the building immediately. Do not tell anyone.\n\nMy finger hovered over the “Send” button for a split second before I pressed it. Almost immediately, a new message arrived.\n\n>You cannot stop this alone. Get out of town. Go to Virginia. New instructions will arrive there.\n\nI had been an agent for nearly a decade. I had stopped countless tragedies and almost as many disasters.\n\nAnd yet, in that decade, I had never received a message from myself.\n\nUntil now.\n\nI climbed to my feet and stared at the burning building for only a moment. Screams and sirens filled the air.\n\nI [ran](https://reddit.com/r/Badderlocks)."
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[WP] You are a student at the mage' guild ready to take your final exam, which is being overseen by the Archmage themselves. You are finally given your test; to pull a rabbit out of a hat.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I was nervous.\n\nStanding before me were the archmages of this school, the best of the best.\nand i was supposed to join them?\n\nme, who has been in this school for just 5 years? i barely managed to grow a small patch of hair where others have a lengthy, majestic beard!\n\ni look down, into the black cylinder. the most important object for this spell.\nthis, and the little magic circle at the inner bottom of it, drawn using a piece of bone white chalk.\n\ni was nervous.\n\nif the incantation was wrong, it could end horrifically. too many horror stories of students pulling out various monsters and demons from the hat, hence why the need for every archmage to be present.\n\nwhy this was supposed to split the inepts from the adepts.\n\nwhy it was now my turn to show my magic prowess.\n\ni was nervous, running my fingers along the outer ridge of the cylinder.\nslowly casting the incantation, i lowered my hand into the cylinder.\n\nthe magic circle shimmered, and my hand went through, deeper than the practical depth of the cylinder.\n\ni felt a wind blowing on the back of my hand.\n\n------\n\nit was a nice, natural, idyllic day in the village.\nthe wind brought scents of fruits from the orchard, of vegetable patches from down by the river, of flowers at the meadow.\n\nthe tiny village was lively, bustling with business and joy.\n\nsuddenly, the sky darkened. everyone could hear an ominous cantation.\nTHE cantation.\n\nthe ominous curse befalling them since ancient times.\n\nthere was no escape. the rabbit council assembled.\n\nit was time to choose a sacrifice for the pink tentacle god.",
"\"I'm, sorry, Archmagister?\"\n\n\"Rabbit out of a hat. Your hat in particular, student.\"\n\nI felt my palms begin to sweat. That was an illusionist trick, or at best a summoning ritual. I specialized and trained as an elementalist.\n\n\"Are you sure, Archmagister? I am an-\"\n\n\"Elementalist. Yes, yes.\" He leaned forward from his chair. \"Are you saying that you can't do it? It would result in a failure on your record and you will not be able to attempt it for another month.\"\n\nI grimaced. The demerit would not be an issue. No one really cared about that outside of university and it was rare for the Archmagister and Board of Deans to kick out a student. One would have to be really incompetent or a criminal for that to happen.\n\nBut waiting a month? I had a group I needed to meet in a week here in Rugi. An opportunity to join an adventure concern, especially one as prestigious as the Blade Company does not come often to a mage. If I had to wait a month, the offer would be rescinded and I would probably have to end up joining the military out of necessity. Nothing wrong with joining the home-commandery's brigade for other folks. But it was not for me.\n\nI took my hat off and took a deep breath. \"Is there a time limit?\" I asked.\n\nThe Archmagister glanced out the window to the University's clock tower. \"Try to get it done before lunch, if you can.\" He leaned back in his chair and waited.\n\nI was given an hour.\n\nMy mind raced back to my studies. I knew all the ins and outs of elementalism, nearly achieving master status in all eight elements. I knew all the cantrips, the gestures, the rituals, practically memorized Lotham's *Guide to the Eight Elements of Creation*. I even read the obtuse *Treatise of the Void*. None of that would help me here.\n\nI searched my memories of my first year at University. Entry level students learned a smattering of each of the different schools of magic, to see which one suited the student more. Runic, enchantment, scribal, alchemy, psychics, mysticism. I had a basic knowledge of them all. Even illusion and summoning.\n\nBasic knowledge is not the same as practical knowledge, however. I waved my hand over my hat and muttered a few words of summoning that I barely remembered from six years ago. Nothing happened.\n\nI was really sweating now. I took a furtive look at the Archmagister. Was he smirking?\n\nThe nervousness evaporated into irritation.\n\nSo summoning didn't work. What did I remember about illusion?\n\nI deflated when I recalled that illusion only worked on those who didn't expect it. The Archmagister would definitely expect it.\n\nI was going to fail.\n\nSince I couldn't do it properly, I decided to use what I did know: elementalism.\n\nWith a few words and a minimum of gestures, I set the hat on fire. Using the power of air, I shaped the flames and smoke into that of a rabbit, with long floppy ears. In less than a minute the fire bunny completely consumed the hat and faded away. I used a water spell to douse the hot ashes, and conjured a little light show for flair.\n\nI stood there defiantly. It was a stupid test.\n\nThe Archmagister was grinning. \"Well done, student. Or should I say, magister.\" He stood up, walked up to me, and extended his hand. I automatically extended mine, mind numbed. He grabbed and shook it.\n\n\"That little light spell was a bit over the top, but it did further demonstrate your exemplary control of the elements.\"\n\n\"I... I passed?\"\n\n\"With flying colors.\"\n\nI was both elated and bewildered. \"Archmagister? May I ask a question?\"\n\n\"Why was pulling a rabbit out of your hat your final?\" The Archmagister laughed. \"Why do you think?\"\n\nI pondered for a moment. \"To demonstrate the need to think out of the box. To understand that one should not be constrained to roles that one or others assigned to them.\"\n\nHe laughed again. \"Sure, let's go with that.\" He toed the sodden ashes that once was my hat. \"Shame about your hat. But you'll begin life as an magister. One of the perks is a new hat. Report to the registrar in the morning.\" He slapped me on the back and walked out.\n\nI stood there agog. *Sure, let's go with that!?*\n\n​\n\nMore writings at r/DaviparsWrites",
"(Okay, relax. I can do this. I've never missed a class, done decently on mid terms, and this is the single most complex bit of sorcery taught here. No reason to panic.)\n\n\"You may begin when ready.\" A booming voice called out from above. (Rabbits, easy enough to conjure...on parchment. We start with the bones. How many do they have again? Don't want to end up like Garold who only produced the skin of a rabbit. He'll be making up for that one for months. Or worse yet, like Bethilda who forgot the bones entirely.)\n\n(Next is muscle, right? Or was it organs? Magus Dillywit wasn't too clear on order of conjuration. I suppose it'll be alright as long as it doesn't collapse immediatley. Skin, I hate this part. It's like wrapping a present that's not already in a box, only this one convulses in pain if you don't do it right.)\n\n\"30 seconds.\" The voice called sharply. (Ok, ok. Last step, the life equation. Nearly fell out of my seat trying to learn this one. Why do they mix alchemical symbols with numerals? Like I'll ever use this in the real world. Aaaaaaand done. Time to present my work.)\n\n\"I give yooou, a rabbit!\" The young mage held it proudly before the archmage and his ensemble of sorcerors and wizards. \n\n\"Sabina.....that's a frog.\""
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[WP] You accidentally free a centuries-old Witch, who then curses you to die come the next full moon. "In that case, quick question:" you ask her, "What if the moon is kinda...destroyed?"
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"She smiles and disappears in a puff of smoke. Why did she smile? I look skywards and see that the moon is full. That gives me one month to live.\n\nTHIRD QUARTER\n\nI've been traveling the realm at this point. I want to experience the realm as a commoner. No swords, no weapons. I fear nothing thinking the witch's curse saves me until my doom.\n\nI walk into an inn for the night and overhear some of the patrons.\n\n\"... how cam we destroy something that we can't reach?\"\n\n\"There are ways—a strong beam of flame could work. Hey you, what are you looking at?\"\n\nI walk off, smiling.\n\npt 2 eventually, if I remember.",
"\"Er... What do you mean?\" The witch questioned Elroy as her cackling ceased. The man turned his head toward the moon, pointing at it.\n\n\"Well- I'd be more worried about what would happen to me if you could pull off such a feat.\" The witch spoke calmly as the man continued to stare at the moon. \n\n\"What if the sun got destroyed and stopped giving light to the moon?\" The man asked curiously. He began to wonder about all of the possibilities that would halt the curse.\n\n\"I guess...-\" \n\n\"What if I go to another planet, one that doesn't have a moon?\" \n\n\"The curse is more time-based, actually.\"\n\n\"So if I went inside of a cryogenic chamber and froze myself, would I still die on a full moon?\" \n\n\"Cryo-what?\" \n\n\"How would the curse even kill me?\"\n\n\"A pack of wolves will attack you on the night of the full moon.\"\n\n\"Huh? Is that all? If I survive the first attempt, will they come back again?\"\n\n\"If you think it'll be easy, you're dead wrong. The wolves that will attack you are immune to swords, daggers, and even magic.\"\n\n\"How about guns?\" Elroy spoke as he dug into his pants, pulling out a revolver. \n\n\"What is that-,\" A gunshot rang out as the witch fell backward in shock. Smoke exuded from the barrel of the gun as he put it away.\n\n\"... I'll retract my curse on you, for now, I have some catching up to do.\" The witch disappeared out of thin air, Elroy stared at where she once sat in dismay.\n\n**5 Years Pass**\n\n\"What is that?\" Elroy peeks through the windows of his house and sees the witch. She traveled to his house inside of a tank, mowing down his land.\n\n\"On the next full moon, you'll be attacked by--.\" Her shouting was cut off by an explosion. She hit one of the landmines Elroy had planted in his yard. The tank explodes as the witch disappeared once again.\n\n\"Anyways, if you ever need any consultation on breaking curses again, you know where to find me,\" Elroy spoke as he finished up his presentation to a group of people. \n\nOn the final slide was a picture of a landmine, a gun, and a phone. \n\n\"Remember this, modern-day tools confuse elderly people. This will also work with your grandparents. If you pull a gun on them, I can assure you they'll stop their nagging. By the way, make sure you don't walk on my grass-,\" Elroy heard an explosion as he shut his door in haste."
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[WP] You think your are going crazy and can control things with your mind. You never leave the house and no one visits. The next day a man in a suit knocks on your door. After an fifteen minutes he hasn't left and starts knocking again.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I had spent the day in a slightly crazed state. It was like a wall had been removed from my mind when I had woken up. I found myself able to move things with my mind with ease. At first I thought I was dreaming, but as I spent more time experimenting, I realised I was awake. This was only solidified when I found myself able to manipulate the technology around me too.\n\nI wanted to be excited, bit the thought of having my mind open like this scared me. Not only that, what would people do if they found out? This was real life. I wouldn't be left alone. People would try and catch me, and find out how I worked. My days would be spent as a lab rat. I was sure of it.\n\nI called in sick, and refused to leave the house. I had multiple panic attacks as I tried to deal with this. Eventually I exhausted myself with my worries, falling into an uneasy slumber. I had hoped I would wake up and it would be gone. But of course, I could still feel it in my head. The openness, the ability to do more.\n\nThankfully, with my sleep I found myself in a better position mentally. I could think through what to do, rather then have a blind panic. The best option would be to hide it, and send out feelers to see if I could find anyone who had something similar. The worst thing I could do is announce it to the world immediately.\n\nAs I was thinking things through, my train of thought was interrupted.\n\n*Ding-Dong*\n\nThe bell rung. I was instantly on edge. No-one should be coming here. The timing was too perfect as well. I brought up my front door camera, and saw a man standing there in a suit. He looked very calm and relaxed. I stayed quiet. Maybe he would go away.\n\nFifteen minutes passed. I kept on checking back. He still stood there, calm and composed. He finally moved, raising his arm and ringing the bell again. He followed it up with a couple of crisp knocks, before resuming his prior position.\n\nI waited again. As I watching, he pulled out a phone, and dialed a number. As he did so, and brought it up to his ear, my phone rang. It said Unknown Number, but I knew just who it was. I swallowed, and answered it.\n\n\"H-hello?\"\n\n\"Good morning Miss Dailey. Would you kindly please let me in. I need to talk to you about your recent discovery.\"\n\n\"M-my what?\"\n\nI saw his smile.\n\n\"You know exactly what I mean. Please don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you. If I was, I wouldn't have attracted your attention.\"\n\nI swallowed, hearing the line go silent. He looked directly into the camera, and tilted his head slightly. He knew I was watching him, and he didnt care. I took a deep breath, extending my mind to pick up a few kitchen knives. If I was going to let a stranger in, I wasn't going to let him take me down without a fight."
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[WP] You have been playing a superhero on TV for a long time. You have been handling obsessive geeks and fans for quite some time but today's meeting was ... strange
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Liberty Girl!\" \n\nI glanced up from my phone to see a man up in my personal bubble. \n\n\"How's it going?\" I briefly gave him my signature million dollar smile and returned my attention back to my phone. After a few minutes I glanced back up as I realized that he hadn't moved. \n\n\"My name is Bryce.\" He told me. \"I am huge fan.\" \n\n\"Thank you, Bryce. That's so sweet...\" I gushed in a way that Liberty Girl would. I was honestly a little annoyed that he hadn't caught the hint that I was busy. Yeah, I usually make time for my fans but it's kind of exhausting at times. I wanted my morning coffee before I had to have human interaction. Is that really too much for a girl to ask? \n\n\"I mean the way that you tricked Onyx Saber into the inter-dimensional vortex to save the universe...\" He told me with awe in his voice. \"Do you think he will return from the Forever Void?\" \n\n\"I don't think so.\" I shrugged innocently. The actor playing Onyx Saber had made a few inappropriate comments to the underage actress playing my sidekick. He wasn't going to be working at our studio ever again. \n\nOh god, he was one of *those* fans. I should have known. *Liberty University* was a young adult superhero show filled with love triangles and 'will they or won't they' plot lines. Occasionally the heroes in training overcame their soap opera level drama and saved the day but somehow one of the male heroes always ended up shirtless. \n\nMost of our fan base is young girls wearing either a Team Patriot or Team Blue Comet shirt. Older male fans aren't as common but usually either had the hots for one of the female leads or was a super nerd for the superhero elements of the show. My current shadow appeared to be the latter. \n\n\"Ms Austin?\" The barista called out my name as she set my frozen coffee on the counter. \n\nBryce frowned at me as I retrieved it. \"Who is Ms Austin? \n\n\"Me?\" I frowned back as I gestured towards myself in a 'I am a Tarzan' manner. \"Allegra Austin.\" \n\n\"The broadcasts shows your alias as Victoria Valiant? You're Liberty Girl, right?\" He seemed confused, which set off some serious warning bells. Victoria Valiant is a character I play on a science fiction television show and the fact that he didn't seem to know that this was fantasy was becoming concerning. One of my co-workers that plays a villain had an obsessive fan break into her house because the character that she played had seduced one of the male leads. Obsessive fans with delusions could be dangerous. \n\nI took a sip of my coffee as I really looked him over for the first time. He was wearing dirty ripped jeans and a beaten leather jacket. A beaten pocket watch hung around his neck on a tarnished gold chain. There had once been something engraved on it but was now faded away. Across his bottom lip was a jagged scar. His dark grey eyes were shifty and couldn't seem to focus on one thing in the room, like he was super nervous or afraid. I don't think the nerves were from being star-struck. Something else was going on with him. \n\n\"Weeelllll... I need to go to work....\" I told him as I ducked around him like a linebacker going for a touchdown and quickly left the coffee shop. \n\n\"Liberty Girl, wait!\" He demanded as he followed behind me, keeping up with my quick pace. \"We need to talk.\" \n\n\"Look, I have several forms of martial arts and unarmed combat training. I saw one of the paparazzi guys around here earlier and the last thing I need is another photo of me kicking some dude's ass so let's just chill, okay?\" I told him. \"I really need to go.\" \n\nHe quickly moved up in front of me and blocked my path. \"Liberty Girl, my universe is in peril. I came here to ask for your help.\" \n\n\"Yeah, for sure. Call my agent and she will arrange something.\" I told him as I tried to get around him. \n\nHe roughly gripped my arm. \"I am sorry.\" He told me sincerely. \"But you are our only hope.\" \n\n \"Okay, motherfu-\" I clenched my fist but froze with confusion as the watch around his neck began to glow a bright blue. There was a flash of light as everything exploded around me. It felt like every atom inside me was ripped apart, tossed in a blender and then clumsily reassembled like a drunken IKEA project with Krazy Glue. \n\nI immediately hit my knees and vomited as I became solid again. \n\n\"I am sorry, I would have warned you but... I am sorry...We really need your help...\" Bryce told me over my heaving. He made an attempt to hold my hair and I punched him in the kidney. He let out a grunt of pain and backed off. \n\nI fell back on my haunches as I finished throwing up. I was dizzy but the nausea had passed. Mostly. \n\nMy coffee fell from my hand as I took in my surroundings. The bright sunny street of cute local shops had disappeared. They had been replaced by an apocalyptic cityscape of rundown buildings. The sky was blocked out by dust and smog. \n\n\"Home sweet home...\" Bryce murmured behind me."
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[WP] Your child has been asking you for a toy they found at a run-down flea market. You haven't been paying your kid attention because of your work being hectic. Your freaking out because this isn't a toy and it is related to the "failed project" no one talks about at your company.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“I am still waiting for Steve to approve the last design. And no, as usual, he is not answering the phone again,” I was telling my colleague Caitlyn from work.\n\n“Mommy, mommy, can we go?” my daughter was yanking my arm towards something I could not see properly.\n\n“Hang on,” I said to the phone and turned to my little 5-year old girl Daisy. “Where do you want to go?”\n\nShe pointed to a yellow house we were standing in front of. I had never payed attention to it before and now saw a sign on the door which said it was a flea market. And a large teddy bear on the window, which explained my daughter’s interest in this place.\n\n“Okay, we can go, if you promise to be careful in there.”\n\nDaisy nodded vigorously and jumped up and down from excitement.\n\n“Okay, do you think you could finish the report without the design?” I asked Caitlyn as I followed Daisy inside.\n\nIt was a rundown place I could see as we entered, crammed with all kinds of stuff, mostly old from the look of it. But you never knew what good things could be hiding here. I greeted the old man behind the counter, who barely acknowledged us and followed Daisy down one of the little corridors, lined with shelves and hangers. Lots of clothes and nicknacks everywhere.\n\nCaitlyn was explaining to me why she needed to have the design of our latest garage door before she approved the budget. Honestly, this whole situation was giving me a headache. Once again, our main designer had decided that his design was not ready yet, though I had told him three weeks ago that he needed to get it done. \n\n“Mommy, I want it, this is so cool,” I heard Daisy exclaiming. I saw her holding something small that looked like some kind of keychain and nodded to her absentmindedly. \n\n“Yes, yes, if you are sure,” I told her and tried to think of a way to reach Steve.\n\n“Could we use the preliminary design from the first draft?” I was really getting a headache now. I tried to remember if I had taken my painkillers with me or if they ran out last week. No, I was pretty certain I had only used half of the sheet, so I should still have four pills left.\n\n“Look, it has buttons and a light, it flashes red,” Daisy was excitedly talking while yanking my hand again. I could see some red light plinking in her hand, probably some kids toy, push a button and it lights red. Nothing special. Who knows why she was so taken with it.\n\n“Okay, okay, we can buy it,” I told her. “Can we go now?”\n\n“Yes, yes, yes,” she said jumping again.\n\n“Wait, let me find my pills,” I told her. “God damn it, why is it so dark here,” I muttered as I tried to rummage my bag.\n\n“Hey, Daisy, can you show that light of yours, maybe I will see better.”\n\nDaisy was eager to point the little thing towards my bag. It seemed quite unusually bright, but helped me and I could locate my pills. I was about to take them out when something about the little toy caught my eye. It was a small pink car, a beetle, but what was unusual about it, one of the tyres was yellow. I stared at the wheel in disbelief.\n\nThat couldn’t be what I thought it was. No way. I had given very strict orders to destroy it. Maybe it just looked like it, or I was just imagining things, from my stress and headache.\n\n“I can point it everywhere, see mommy?” Daisy was saying and pointing the red light at the shelves.\n\nThis is just a harmless toy that just reminds me of our chief engineer’s dangerous and failed project that we erased from our databases. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes for a second and decided I needed a vacation after this project was done.\n\n“Look, mommy, a door,” Daisy shouted. I looked in that direction and saw a door that probably led to the backrooms or the private rooms. \n\nDaisy pointed her toy at the door. It blinked red and then green.\n\n“Daisy, no,” I yelled at her, my panic suddenly rising in my chest. I could feel my feet start to tremble, but I needed to move. The door she was pointing at started to slowly open, a faint glow of blue light emanating from there. Daisy stood right in front of it, looking wonderingly at me, my yell, had evidently startled he, but all I could see was the door slowly opening. \n\nI ran towards it, not thinking, just reacting and slammed into the door closing it. I rested my back against the door, heaving in relief. That was a really close call, I sighed in relief. Daisy looked at me with confusion.\n\n“What’s wrong mummy?”\n\n“Everything’s okay now. Why don’t you give me that toy?” I reached out my hand and she put the little car keychain in it.\n\nNow that I could feel it in my hand I knew this was the one. Our failed prototype of garage door opener remote. It was supposed to be this new design and technology, but whatever had happened, it did not open just garage doors. This little thing opened doors to other dimensions, dangerous ones with monsters inside. Though we had only opened two doors in our tests, the cleanup had taken us weeks and we lost one of our technicians to the thing that escaped from there. \n\n“Let mummy hold on to it for now, okay, honey?” I asked Daisy.\n\n“Okay, but just a little while,” she reluctantly agreed.\n\nYes, just a bit, till I destroy it, I thought. But as I headed to the old man to pay for it, I looked at the tiny thing in my palm and wondered… but what if I keep it?"
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[WP] Ten years ago, you were bitten by a dog, and now you are cursed: every month when the full moon rises you turn into... a Chihuahua.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Harry was aware that most Londoners don’t have 3 tiny sets of stairs under their sinks. He was aware that they don’t usually put one by the toilet, one by the bed, and one by the fire escape window. Harry was aware that he was not like most Londoners. \n\nHarry was a werechuachua.\n\nHe doesn’t remember a time before he loved dogs. Harry was a volunteer at the animal shelter for twelve years before it happened. He was headed home after a long day of baths and biscuits when he decided to make a last-minute rescue of a dumpy-looking chihuahua he saw on the street.\n\nIt bit him, the naughty little dog. Harry didn’t worry. He took it back to the shelter, where it was turned away for rabies. It got away from Harry the minute he stepped back onto the street with it, and the former had to pay a very hefty fine to the shelter.\n\nThe punishment, unfortunately, persisted.\n\nHarry was sitting in his flat, putting out staircases again. He had about two hours before it happened, before every rat became a super-sized behemoth, before every person was suddenly a monolithic god with the power to stomp out his pathetic little life.\n\nHarry had one thing he wanted to tell you before he curled up for the night next to a hot water bottle and a bowl of kibble. If you ever think your nutbag chihuahua is possessed, it probably is."
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[WP] The Dungeon Town is a man eating monster. Many entered the dungeon, few return. Still, promises of treasures and riches continues to bring people and investment to this infertile land, with it prosperity. As long as the dungeon is never cleared. You, the Mayor intends to keep it that way.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"No one knows what the town's original name was. It is only known as Dungeon Town now. On such barren land, ravaged by wicked magics, the prosperous town looked out of place.\n\nIt is a place where no plants grow and the water made people sick, food and water had to be delivered from elsewhere. It is a miracle the town could grow to the size it is today.\n\nWhy the town was able to exist lies in the dungeon that is in the center of the town. The guardians of the dungeon have metallic shells, lighter than steel and just as strong. Armors made from this metal is highly sought after for being impenetrable yet light-weight. Swords made of this metal is worthy of becoming a noble's family heirloom. This metal is named Mithril. A fist-sized piece can command the price of a house.\n\nAdventurers from all over gathered here, hoping to make a windfall. When people gathered, so did merchants. Portable water that could be gotten for free from 2 miles away could fetch a good price, and there is always no shortage in demand. Food likewise. For adventurers could die at any time, they were generous with their spending. Thus more and more types of goods poured in and the city became bustling with economic activity.\n\nThe entrance of the dungeon is a weird one. Unlike the normal doors that are two halfs of a rectangle, the \"door\" looks like a wheel, a huge chunk of metal towering 3 meters tall that made people wonder how big of a hammer does a blacksmith need to hammer it into shape, or what kind of giant could wield such a hammer. Surely it must be a construct of gods. The wheel would roll to open in the day and would roll to close at night. On top of the door were words written in a forgotten language: \"31st Automated Chemical, Unmanned and Nuclear weapons production facility. Uncle sam, 3030, world war V, In god we trust.\" .\n\nThe hallways of the dungeon were patrolled by steel knights. They were the adventurer's favourite. They not make loud swooshing noises as they move around but also a wet watery trail, making them easy to track or avoid. Their stomach would also always contain items previous challengers left behind. Weapons and jewlery are great additional income.\n\nI think i will finish this when i have the time."
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[WP] You're a trainer and sparring partner for superhero recruits. Your latest client is a bright and peppy young girl with fluffy animal ears and a big fancy hat. Her magic is phenomenally powerful, but she's just too friendly and jovial to ever be a proper crime-fighter.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The man in an almost military uniform paced back and forth, his hands clenched behind his back as he strode the twenty feet or so, turned and stalked back. He refused to look to the center of the practice dome. He could hear her, the magic was buzzing and her laughter… Her LAUGHTER was getting on his nerves. He heard a series of soft ‘plops’ and looked. And gritted his teeth.\n\nShe had chosen right then to materialize bunnies.\n\nThe loose work-out sweats hung from her, her slightly floppy ears hanging straight down as she held onto the swinging bar with one knee. How her little top hat did not fall was an incidental thought through the controlled rage The Sarge kept right below the surface. He watched as she created another bunny, the pastel blue on this one having a small glitter to it as it rolled in the air a few feet and then landed on top of several of the others she had made.\n\n“Linda. Stop that.” His voice was monotone, and other recruits would have obeyed him instantly. She looked at him and swirled her fingers to make a small patch of grass and flowers right under his feet. And she giggled. The Sarge closed his eyes and counted.\n\nHe heard a squeak of wood and metal and looked back to his trainee. She had landed on the ground on one knee, standing as his eyes opened on her. The ears flopped a little at the tips and the hair that had been fringing down around the hat obscured her face. The sweats were really too big for her, but with how she moved around, getting her into something tighter had been impossible. One of her shoulders was out of the neck hole of the shirt, and The Sarge had a little pang of guilt having to try to toughen this kid up.\n\n“Sarge? Don’t be mad.” She pulled at the shirt and tried to get the hair out of her face. That face was full of innocence and big eyes looking at him. He could see her emotions running through her, another pang of guilt for having to push this-\n\nHe took a deep breath and called out, “Program Three.”\n\nHer eyes got bigger and she waived her hands, moving the bunnies into a space that suddenly had an iridescent bubble over it. She hardly had time to move before a bolt of electricity come from one of the multi-canons in the edge of the room. It hit her, knocking her down and into some of the standing equipment. There was a grunt and another bolt of electricity that threw her in another direction.\n\nThe Sarge stepped out from behind the protective fence, but saw that she was still moving. His eye went to the bunnies and saw the bubble start to waiver. He usually didn’t help too much when he was in the training dome, but he saw that her pain was draining the defense she had put up.\n\n“Protect the bunnies!”\n\nHer head popped up and there was a motion to her hand, a viscus liquid magic coming from her towards the bunnies. It hit the bubble, breaking it, but forming a solid containment over the little pastel bunnies.\n\nHe had not stepped back behind the protective barrier, and that was a mistake. He was tough, and his telekinesis usually could save him from most impacts, but the energy that went through him from the multi-canon was too much for him and he went down.\n\nHe was not out, even though it hurt to breathe. He heard a gasp and a “No!” above the buzzing that was suddenly in his ears.\n\nHis eyes were clouded with a red haze and he could almost hear. What he did hear was a cracking of metal and concrete, the smell of ozone and molten titanium alloy sharp in his nose. And then the pressure of an explosion knocked him out.\n\nSomething was moving on him and tickling him. His face had something soft brush against it and he went to move it with a hand, a soft fluffy thing making a little squeak when he touched it. His eyes opened a little and he found he was in a glowing bubble, the bunnies cuddling in with him. The sight of the soft rainbow colored fluff balls made him smile, but also made his head hurt more.\n\nA crack appeared in the glow around him. The smell of destruction came to him and he tried to move, but the area was too small to do more than turn onto his side. There was pain up the inside of his leg as he tried to move it.\n\nThe glow stuff around him and the bunnies seemed to shatter and disappear. He first could not focus, but saw the worried look on Lindas face, and then the medics that were coming up behind her. She lifted the bunnies off of him with the magic and held several to her chest. She only backed off a little and stayed at his side as he was lifted onto a gurney.\n\nHe looked up into the afternoon sky. And blinked. That was ten feet of reinforced concrete. Had been ten feet of reinforced concrete. \n\n“I’m so sorry Sargent!”\n\nHe cleared his throat and whispered out, “Take the rest of the day off.” He heard a nervous giggle. “We have to work on that control, Linda.”\n\nBefore she was blocked from following him into the medical facilities, a bright green bunny was placed on The Sargent’s chest, a feeling of peace coming over him as he held it to him. His mind was filling with a loud surf noise as he felt the medics start to cut his clothing off. The soft push of the bunnies nose into his cheek told him he was going to be o.k.."
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[WP] You can hear what nearby people listen through their headphone or similar stuff.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
" \\[Sharp Whispers\\]\n\n\\[I see her. - Melody\\] The strange message jumped out from the static in Emma's mind. She learned to ignore cellphones and radios enough to keep the noise to a dull roar over the years. But this message was different. She heard a woman's voice in her mind and physically felt the letters of the words on her body. The short message tickled her heart; It felt as if written on her heart with letters of pure love. Emma did not react. She remained seated at the park picnic table sketching. It was a beautiful Wednesday afternoon and a good opportunity to practice landscapes. Though, she stopped drawing the moment she heard the message and instead stared at the few lines she managed.\n\nEmma's ability made her quite paranoid when she first discovered it almost a decade ago. It was easy to assume every conversation was about her. But, as she matured she learned that, in fact, strangers didn't even give her a second thought for the most part. It also helped that more and more people with abilities stepped into the public eye since she first got her powers. Emma learned to assume no one was talking about her until they made it obvious. Though, she never heard, or felt, a message like this. Any other communication she intercepted seemed come only through her ears. But, every letter of this exchange felt filled with intention and affection.\n\n\\[She's not Unique. - Melody\\]\n\n\\[Only a Super. - Melody\\] This time, Emma felt tremendous disappointment with the messages. As if she personally failed at something that was important to her. Each individual letter fluttered across her heart. It was an odd way of communicating that seemed more intimate than even face to face conversation. She could feel the stranger's emotions in every word. \n\n\\[Do you see more? - [Bloody](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/91ip02/wp_a_device_was_invented_that_allows_people/)\\] Emma heard a new woman's voice and felt different emotions with the message. In thinking about it, she realized she did not feel any emotions. The words felt almost robotic on her heart. Each letter landed cold and empty on her heart.\n\n\\[Yes, love. - Melody.\\] The response made Emma's heart swell with so much love, she was convinced she'd fall madly for the first person she laid eyes on. She kept her head down and focused on her half-started sketch. Emma couldn't understand it. Her emotions made her feel love for the second voice; but, it only returned stiff communication void of feeling.\n\n\\[Plenty of Supers here. - Melody\\]\n\n\\[We're working, - Bloody\\] The cold woman said.\n\n\\[Her ability may let her hear. -Bloody\\] Emma's mind raced. They\n\nhad to be talking about her; but, they didn't know she could hear them. They also seemed disappointed she wasn't a Unique. Emma didn't know what that meant and hoped they would leave her alone if she didn't measure up. As long as she didn't draw attention to herself, Emma might be able to finish her sketch and the rest of her day undisturbed.\n\n\\[Sorry, Ms. Sharp. - Melody\\] The brief apology was more sincere than any Emma had heard in person. But, the message still carried deep love.\n\n\\[She hasn't even looked up. -Melody\\]\n\n\\[I don't think she can hear us. - Melody\\]\n\n\\[Then, she's useless. - Bloody\\] Despite knowing they were talking about her, Emma felt glad they didn't feel like kidnapping her or whatever was planned. Even if they just wanted to talk, Emma couldn't take that chance. She also noticed that the message seemed a bit warmer than before. The second woman relaxed her cold, formal tone.\n\n\\[Notify [Oren](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/9mf20f/wp_you_can_never_be_too_careful_they_said_its/) about the Supers. - Bloody\\]\n\n\\[[His mother](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/fygscu/wp_a_demon_is_summoned_by_an_ancient_ritual/) will be [interested](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/ck5u4d/wp_one_man_obtains_the_power_to_stop_all_time_at/). - Bloody\\] Each order felt warmer on her heart.\n\n\\[Then come home, love. -Bloody\\] Emma's heart nearly exploded. She could not help but smile as tears began to flow. She thought she felt the ultimate emotion earlier from Melody; but, this new sensation dwarfed it. Each letter formed on her heart like a perfect, eternal, sunny day spent in love. Suddenly, Emma grew a bit jealous. She doubted she could find someone to make her feel like that for even a few minutes much less with every word.\n\nThat was the last message she heard from the two strange women and Emma felt incredibly lucky. She managed to carry the memory of the powerful emotions for several days. Her coworkers suspected she was in a new, secret relationship and commented on how she seemed to be walking on air. She didn't know how to explain that just being aware that such a love existed in the world stretched her heart wide open. Even those that knew of her abilities wouldn't understand what she went through, with no way to replicate it.\n\nFour days after the encounter Emma was walking to a convenience store when emergency chatter filled her mind. Every broadcast she could hear was suddenly talking about the same thing. She paused as she tried to sort through the voices; but, she noticed people running out of the convenience store to look up at the sky.\n\nA black hole hovered in the sky pouring out white objects that Emma couldn't make out. Then, a pile of bones landed on the sidewalk in front of her. The bones magically put themselves together into a skeleton as several more piles landed behind it.\n\nUp ahead, she could see the crowd at the store surrounded by skeletons as more and more continued to rain from the sky. The emergency bands that Emma could hear all indicated that this was happening everywhere on Earth. Emma tried to run from the approaching skeletons but she found another group behind her.\n\nThe last thing Emma heard was her own voice. Screaming. \n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\nThank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1220 in a row. (Story #124 in year four.) You can find all my stories collected on my subreddit ([r/hugoverse](https://www.reddit.com/r/hugoverse/)) or my blog."
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[WP] You wake up on what seemed to be another normal day. Walking to the kitchen before heading out to work, you notice your laptop - on and not where you left it. As you go to close it, you notice a file open that you haven't seen before. You begin to sweat as you see what the file contains...
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy\nAll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy\nAll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy\nAll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy\nAll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy\nAll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy\nAll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy\nAll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy\nAll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy\nAll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy\nAll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy\nAll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy\nAll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy\nAll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy\nAll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy\nAll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy\nAll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy\n\n\n All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.\n\n All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.\n...\n...\n...\nSize: 3.5 GB\n\n(Disquieting sounds)\n(Sound of rolling a sheet of paper from a typewriter)\n(More disquieting sounds)\n(Sound of paper flipping, disquieting sounds slowly intensify)\n(Disquieting sounds intensify, then slowly quiet down)\n\n\"How do you like it?\""
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[WP] "You're me?!" "Yes, I'm you, but that's not important right now. We need your help."
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Okay.\"\n\n\"It's going to sound crazy if I try and explain but there is no other option!\"\n\n\"I said I'd do it.\" Folly was already pulling on her boots.\n\n\"I need you to trust me on this, we can't do it without you!\"\n\nFolly buckled up he sword belt \"are you really me?\"\n\nHer double seemed to be expecting this question \"Yes I can prove it. You had a crush of Gilat Stints when you were Twelve and you think-\"\n\n\"Right!\" Folly cut her off \"and you should know that if my interdimensional time traveling double showed up on my doorstep I would help them without a second thought.\"\n\nHer double looked stunned.\n\n\"Which are you anyway?\"\n\n\"Which what?\"\n\n\"Interdimensional or time traveling.\" Clarified Folly grabbing her emergency bag.\n\n\"Time traveling.\" Stated slightly older Folly in a bit of a daze.\n\nFolly let out a whistle \"you managed to convince old Michambis to send you back.\"\n\n\"In very loose definitions, yes.\"\n\nFolly grinned \"knife to the throat?\"\n\n\"Knife to the throat.\"\n\n\"He must have taken that well.\"\n\nOlder Folly shrugged \"you know how he is, when I left he was arguing with himself.\"\n\nFolly could picture the old wizard doing exactly that \"so what do you need me to do?\"\n\nThere's a messenger at the dragon's skull inn who goes by the name Litan, I need you to keep him alive.\"\n\n\"What's the catch?\" Folly asked curious.\n\n\"He is vital to the future and people want him dead.\"\n\n\"I guessed as much. Why?\"\n\nOlder Folly opened her mouth but was interrupted by the clock tower. \"Thrice dead gods\" she cursed \"the first assassin will be there in an hour. Find Litan and help him deliver his message.\" And with that she was gone, rushing of through the crowd.\n\nFolly considered for a second before running towards the dragon's skull inn. There were fights to be had, and a messenger to save. The day was looking up.\n\n\nThanks for reading. all feedback is appreciated."
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[WP] The Empress who has been afflicted with illness has passed. And to the successor will inherit the empire they built and the riches they pillaged. It then is a shock when the bastard is chosen to ascend the throne. You like your siblings are horrified. Being firstborn makes it even worst.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“They’re already calling her The Commoner’s Queen,” Aron muttered to his twin sister, Lysette. He looked across the throne room to all the attending. He had never seen so many commonfolk in the throne room, standing next to lords and Lesser Kings alike. He and his sister stood in the very front row, so he had to crane his neck all the way around to see.\n\n“Look forward, don’t waste your time on them,” Lysette whispered back, not breaking her gaze from the girl atop the throne. Aron kept his gaze to the crowd for just a second longer, enough to see the smiles on their grime covered faces. They were too stupid to understand that he was their true High King. He turned his head back to the false Queen.\n\nShasa looked like their sister to be sure. The red waves of hair fell past her shoulders, the freckles dotted her cheeks. It was the eyes that gave it away. While Aron and Lysette boasted their royal emerald green, Shasa’s eyes were a dark brown. He had overheard one of the lords, whose name he could not be bothered to remember, describe them as soft and sweet, like chocolate; Aron thought they looked more like shit. He looked at her sitting on the throne. She sat their rigid with a stupid gap-toothed smile on her face as she waved to the crowd, prompting the common folk to cheer. She looked uncomfortable wearing the silk dress and woven wool robe. She was only sixteen.\n\n“Look at her,” he whispered again, “Just yesterday she was brought to us wearing sewn rags, and we’re supposed to accept her as the true heir? She isn’t even our elder. Younger than us by two years.”\n\n“It was you who didn’t bother to read mother’s will before it was declared to the Lesser Kings.”\n\n“I never would have imagined this. As Empress I wasn’t surprised that she loved another man after father died. But to not only keep the child, but name her heir before us? Her first born? Had I known I would have burned the paper and have anyone who read it executed for treason.”\n\n“Mother’s mind wasted away before her body did. She spent her last years giving away the palace’s riches, and there wasn’t a day she wasn’t staring blankly out her bedroom window. We should have known better.”\n\nIt was then The High Priest approached the throne, holding in his hands The High Crown. A golden band set with a rainbow of jewels with six total prongs; five representing the lesser kingdoms within The Empire, the center and tallest of which held the royal crest of The Empire. A beautiful crown that it was his by rights. “As per Empress Imelda’s final will and testament,” he shouted so that all could hear, “Shasa, born out of wedlock, having been legitimized by Her Highness and the Temple’s Divinity alike, shall surpass her siblings in the line of succession and shall inherit Camolia and Her territories.” He raised the crown above the girl’s head. “And so, I, High Priest of The Temple, in the sight of Gods and Men, crown you Empress Shasa, High Queen of the Camoline Empire!” He set the crown on her head.\n\nThe throne room erupted into a deafening cheer. All cheered except for Aron. Even Lysette clapped her hands though her face showed no joy. Aron couldn’t help but scowl. Shasa’s neck shrunk as if the crown were too much weight for her to support. When the cheering started to die down he told his sister, “Only a strong will should wear a crown. A royal will.”\n\nLysette nudged him. “Fix your face, you can’t look weak in front of the Lesser Kings, Emperor or not.” Aron forced a smile.\n\nShasa stood up and said loudly in her shrill voice, “It is truly an honor. I never knew my mother until a few days ago. I am saddened to have only learned of her after her passing. I will do my best to honor her legacy and Empire, so tonight we feast as a farewell to Her Highness my mother, and as a toast to the future of Camolia!”\n\n…\n\nThe feast took place in the courtyard of the palace, long tables were set up and were filled end to end with plates of pork, beef, lamb, chicken, geese, and duck all slathered in all sorts of spices and sauces. Bowls of various fruits and cheeses were scattered throughout as well. Just as during the coronation, the commonfolk were allowed to celebrate with the nobility. Aron and Lysette stood on either side of Shasa, as they once did with their mother. Aron sat, ate, and drank in silence as Shasa and Lysette carried a courteous conversation. Over what, Aron couldn’t be bothered to care.\n\nThen the new Empress turned to him. “Are you enjoying your food brother?” she asked with that stupid smile.\n\nHe refused to look at her and responded, “I’m not your brother.”\n\nShasa laughed and “Pardons, are you enjoying your food \\*half-\\*brother?”\n\nAron said nothing, but she continued. “I was just telling your sister that even though I am High Queen now, I will still let you to live here at the palace-”\n\nAron stood from his seat so forcefully that his chair fell behind him. “*Let* us? This is our home! Who do you think you are? You are Empress of Nothing! Just a common street rat!”\n\nShasa’s flinched, her smile gone. Her eyes began to water. Aron noted the stares from the attendants before he stormed off.\n\nHe passed through the doors when Lysette grabbed his arm and turned him around to face her. “What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded.\n\n“I am the rightful High King!” Aron spat between clenched teeth. “That *girl* is nothing, yet you let her talk to us like we’re nothing more than servants.”\n\nShe slapped him. He was about the hit her back when she put a hand on his shoulder and said, “Do you think yelling at the High Queen in front of the people makes you look like a rightful High King? You’re the one who’s Emperor of Nothing. But you’re still a prince. And I’m still a princess. We are still next in line for the crown. Our succession wasn’t ignored… only delayed.”\n\nAron looked at her. “What are you saying?”\n\n“Meet me tomorrow morning at the stables. Wear a hooded cloak. But for now, you will go out there and apologize to our dear sister, The High Queen.”\n\nAron thought for a moment. His sister had always been the more cunning of the two. He couldn’t help but trust her. He nodded, composed himself and went back outside.\n\nShasa was still wiping away her tears. She couldn’t bear to look at him. Aron sighed and gave a bow. “Your Highness my sincerest apologies. I am… overcome by grief at the loss of our dear mother. I shouldn’t have allowed my emotions to get the better of me.”\n\nShasa turned to look at him, a weak smile on her face. “Grief is… powerful. I wish I had known our mother, to grieve her as you do. For great grief comes only from great love. I accept your apology. Now come and feast with me brother.”\n\nAron reluctantly did as he was told as her and Lysette returned to their seats and carried on their act.\n\n…\n\nThe next morning Aron put on his brown hooded cloak and found his sister wearing her own by the stables. They saddled two horses and rode out through the rear gates, where there were few prowling eyes. It was once they were beyond the fences that Aron asked, “Where are we going?”\n\n“You’ll see. Just follow me and say nothing and keep yourself covered.”\n\nAnd so, they rode into the city. The further they got from the palace, the more cramped the streets got, and the worse the air smelled. By the time the twins dismounted from their horses, Aron had to cover his nose with his shirt to keep from gagging. He took note of the building they were at.\n\n“Rowelda’s Apothecary,” he read the sign shaped like a potted plant. He turned to his sister. “Poison?” (CONT)"
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[WP] After being trapped in your infinite closet for over a week now you are starting to succumb to the insanity of your situation. But things change when you come across a large tent made of fur coats.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Our house was located in pretty quite but occasionally lively part of the suburbs. The houses were pretty old but quite strong and most of them including ours were renovated just a few years ago. Actually we were a pretty happy family but, it was time for me to move out, i got pretty excited for college, and thanks to my glasses i looked like i am in collage for a while. \n\nOriginally i wanted to study psychology but didn't make the cut so i opted out for sociology, people say it is easier anyway, after looking into it i actually think there is some great potential in this field. \n\nMy parents were busy Cooking downstairs and i I moved out most of my stuff at this point, the only thing really left to pack was my coats jackets and wintergear in the back of my closet. I never botherd to put lights in there the light from my room was enough so it was pretty hard to see usually but something was off that day, it was a little darker than usual, still when I stepped in i saw my coat hanger full of thick jackets, some of my parents stuff a little bit further in the back was also here including a soft furcoat my mom loves to wear i took another step. Next to the soft fur touching my face i felt a slight breeze, weird, i walked a step further wanting to touch the backwall, instead, my hands just touched a jacket but when I pushed to get to the backwall again i felt barely any resistence. \n\nActually in my defense i never took my parents stuff out from back there so i wasn't really sure how much stuff they have in there, maybe what I thought was a backwall was just visible above the first and second row. What if this was actually a walk in? and i never realized? Well that would be typical of me to be fully honest here. Usually if things just work how they are, i don't really want to dig in deeper.\n\nIn this case excitement kind of hit me i wanted to see the closet from the inside i pushed away some of the jackets and coats and basically ran in there, bad idea - i tripped over something and my glasses fell on the floor, i went down to pick them back up immediately but they weren't right under me as i hoped, also the floor was kind of wet, i hope it was just something small, i read an article about mold recently so this could potentially mean a lot of trouble for my parents - i figured the glasses went a little bit further so i crawled a little checking all directions, after about 5 minutes searching i finally found them and i was relived to do so. \n\nIt can be really difficult to find glasses in a closet in the dark.. wait dark? It wasn't that dark in here, i mean not as much as i expected, maybe there is a little closet light somewhere at the top, also, thinking about how much i crawled around in here this closet was surprisingly spacious. \n\nAfter i put my glasses back on i stood up and looked around to see the closet in all it's glory. But what i saw was well actually not that much, there were still a lot of coats and jackets around me, looking up i couldn't see a light at all, it felt more like an ambient light, weird.\n\nAt this point instead of playing around in there i wanted to just tell my parents about me finally finding out about the walkin closet - the only problem was the exit, where was the exit? Between me crawling around and finally finding my glasses and now - I can't seem to see the exit anymore. \n\nI walked in one direction expecting either a wall or the exit but there was nothing only more coats and jackets hanging everywhere. Was i stuck? Not beeing able to find a way out of my closet. I sat down and tryed to collect myself. This is ridiculous \"how can I not find an exit in a closet?\" I asked myself. Talking in here for the first time i realized that that my voice actually echoed a little like it does when you are in a hallway full of people. \n\nObviously something unnatural was going on, maybe i hit my head and was just dreaming unconscious in my closet that would explain it. Just in case I decided to walk in one direction again, this time i just won't stop. The first ten minutes i waked very slow with an uneasyness in the back of my head, than i began to pick up a little speed jogging than running and than i started to panick and sprinted in a straight line at least as much as the hanging coats and jackets were allowing me. Tumbling and exhausted i let my self fall against some jackets and drop to the floor. \n\nSlowly it creeped up my spine, the feeling that this isn't a dream, the feeling that this is real and i am lost. Lost in a place where people don't send rescue teams. Not because it's dangerous but because it's ridiculous. My lung hurting was only underlineing what i suspected already, this is reality, well at least the one i am in right now. \n\nAfter calming down for a while and thinking about what to do i decided i had to get out fast i don't have food or water to stay here and so i had to come up with a plan, i won't just give up. I came up with this simple idea, i take some of the jackets away from their hangers and pile them up at a spot - this is my center. From here i will walk about 40 minutes in every direction let's call it north east south and west beeing destinguishile through different jackets that i put on all the sides and of course the diagonal lines in between also count, so north-east etc but i don't need any marker for that - and than when and while i walk in that direction i look around and try to see the exit if i can't see it i just turn around and walk the 40 minutes back to the center. The only question is, why did i go in this deep before coming up with this plan?! \n\nEven if I make it from north to the south that's already 4 Trips so let's say after every 40min trip i take 20min to rest that's 2 hours for every direction, basically what that means, is that it will take me 8 hours. The full circle would be 8 trips, so 16 hours. I never walked that much, i mean i used to walk a lot but i don't do anymore, really troublesome.\n\nAnd i might want to be considerate of my calories aswell, if i burn to much i might not get out of here alive - maybe i make it seem worse than it is. I took a little bit of time..."
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Inspired by the anime Death Note.
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[WP] One day, you find a notebook lying around and pick it up. When you take it home, you are met with a spirit that tells you, “This is a Life Note. Whoever’s name you write in there will come back to life.” The spirit stays to guide you; (s)he has an unexpected constant craving for chocolate.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I always thought that I was hallucinating that one day. But, what if what the spirit said was actually true? \"Nah, it's fake, it's fake, it's fake. Why do I keep thinking about it?\" I would say everyday.\n\nI could not get my mind off of it no matter what I did. I tried everything single thing I could think of. I binge watched my favorite TV series. I cleaned the house five time a day. I washed clean dishes, refolded clothing that looked perfectly fine. And the one thing that would distract me from everything-eating chocolate-it didn't work either!\n\nFinally, on one fateful day, I told myself, \"You know what, I'm just going to write Edward MacDean.\"\n\nEdward MacDean was a well known celebrity in my town who died a few months back. Everybody knew of his death and those who didn't were deemed ignorant. I was actually a huge fan of him that I would do anything just to see him in person. So if the notebook was real, then I could bring him back to life, which would be absolutely great.\n\n\"Edward MacDean,\" I wrote on the first page of the notebook. Once I was done, I waited. And waited. And waited. A full ninety minutes passed of waiting and I already gave up.\n\n\"I knew it. Why did I even try,\"\n\nWho knew that as soon as I went to the weather channel, it did not broadcast only weather but something extremely unexpected.\n\n\"Hello everybody! Today, the weather forecast is sunny with zero percent chance of rain! We also have a very special guest on this beautiful day! The one and only Edward MacDean!\"\n\n\"Whaaat!?\" I immediately paused the television and walked straight up to the TV. \"Is that really him? It is him! Eeeeeeeeeeeeee!\"\n\nI squealed and ran around my house, not thinking about what the notebook actually did. It lasted for around five minutes and consisted of me punching my pillow, drinking three cups of water in a row, me jumping here and there without a care of whether or not my house would collapse, and a whole lot of other ridiculous things.\n\nThen I dashed to the backyard door and ran outside in circles. Suddenly I tripped and fell. I couldn't get up for some reason. Actually, it was more like I felt too weak to get up. I sat straight up and collapsed right back onto the ground, coughing violently a few times.\n\n\"What's up with me?\" I muttered. I looked down and right on the grass, there was a splotch of blood.\n\n\"I forgot to tell you. Every time you save someone, you will have a coughing fit, followed by a small fever, and a day of headaches after that.\" a voice said.\n\nIt was that spirit! The one that told me of the notebook and stole my secret stash of chocolate! Expensive chocolate too! And she stole it all!\n\n\"It's you! Chocolate spirit thief person!\"\n\n​\n\nSorry for the extremely late reply! (This is my first reply ever so there might be posting mistakes.)"
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[WP] 20 years in the future, you join an old and dead Minecraft server and stumble upon an ancient lab machine...
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I stare at the iron door. Then the spruce sign that hung above it. It was labeled *LAB.*\n\nA few days ago, my friend had recommended a Minecraft server on a forum, so I joined it. Wandering around was mostly boring, but here? In a cave? A laboratory?\n\nI shake my head. No messing around, Theodore. Pressing the stone button, I unlock the iron door. Then my avatar freezes. Lag at the worst time possible. \n\nI realize that I'm a few centimeters from touching the screen. The lag stops, I make a few movements, it starts again. I'm about to shut down my computer when I see a lever. I flick it, and everything proceeds as normal.\n\nStrange. A machine producing lag? Then it clears, and I see an iron box, big enough to contain a few players. \n\nYet another iron door. I push the stone button, and see a player. Strangely enough, they don't have a name tag.\n\n*Hello.* Text appears on the chat menu. I was hoping to figure out their username, but no. It's just *<player>*.\n\n*In case you're wondering,* the chat continues, *this is the NPC machine. A player goes in here, it removes its player-given traits, like usernames and such. But when you put an NPC–such as a villager–inside, it becomes...sentinent, I guess. Jerry can tell you later.* \n\n*Alright then.* I type out a response. *Going to eat dinner. Duty calls.*"
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[WP] The paper hits your tongue. Time passes and starts to stretch. You feel something moving in your head. Everything turns sideways and then suddenly everything comes into focus. You know who you are and why they hid you here. Did they really think you were gone forever.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I rub my eyes as I open them again. Yep. I'm in a white bedroom. I know to act oblivious. It's 5 am. In an hour they'll take me out for breakfast, then let me go into the commons. Everyone here is an actor. They made me think I was an amnesiac in an institute. Well, not anymore.\n\nIn an hour, a scientist with light blue scrubs comes in like they're a health nurse. They instruct me to follow. I do as I'm told to. I wait until we get to the cafeteria. A window. The sky is a pretty shade of pink and purple as the sun comes up.\n\n\"Hey, amnesiac. How you feeling?\" It's one of the actors. Jay. He's given the role of being my friend and being admitted for being a danger to society. I smile.\n\n\"I'm doing good. I'm trying to remember things, but it's getting harder. Hm... hey, what's your favourite colour? Maybe I could think of something.\"\n\n\"Oh, Blue.\" I nod as I pretend to be thinking... when in reality, I'm looking down as the sky turns a beautiful shade of a teal blue.\n\n\"Blue you say, Jay?\" I look up with a grin.\n\n\"You... you remembered. You remember everything.\" Jay steps back. I force him to sit down across from me.\n\n\"Yes, but since you were genuinely kind to me, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm actually indebted to you. You didn't bully me. You didn't force me to do anything. I don't want you to get hurt. You are a good friend.\"\n\n\"Th-thanks.\"\n\n\"I understand you're afraid now that I have figured everything out. But ever since I came here I have understood why you guys did this. I am basically a person with the powers of a deity, and my record isn't clean, yeah, but understand I don't want to hurt anyone. Maybe Tom over there for kicking me in the knees, and Anna for spitting on me, but like, everyone that hasn't hurt or bullied me isn't gonna get hurt. I'm not a person who'd hurt people that don't deserve it. So, how about this? You obviously have gotten attached to me. I know this. I know everything. I have gotten attached as well, considering you are the only person who hasn't hurt me. We can leave this place. We can have a normal life. What do you say, Jay?\"\n\n\"Really? That's all you want?\"\n\n\"I just wanted to fit in, and now I have someone to do that with.\" I smile.\n\n\"Well, we could go to my house. It's a bit far from here though...\"\n\n\"Far is good. Far is not here. Come on.\" I hold his hand and teleport us there.\n\n\"I... you can do that?\"\n\n\"Yeah. Powers of a deity, remember?\"\n\n\"Right. So, new life, leave our past behind us?\"\n\n\"Yep!\"\n\n\"Okay then, sweetie.\" Jay smiles.\n\n*\"Let's start our new lives. Together.\"*\n\n\\---\n\nI have no idea what I just wrote.\n\nI just wrote and continued writing whatever came to mind."
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[WP] Your friend begs you to drive out to the middle of nowhere and take their picture with their phone. As soon as you, they disappear. You check the phone and find hundreds of photos of different smiling strangers all in the exact same spot.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Jessica stared down at the picture. It was of a man in his forties wearing a straw hat, plaid shirt, and faded jeans. He was smiling at the camera, with his eyes crinkled up into a warm and friendly gaze. She flicked on to the next picture. It was of a woman in her thirties. And then onto another one of a young boy, probably no more than six. Jessica peered down at each of their smiling faces. All told, there had to be at least several hundred of them. Had they all vanished, just as Katie had?\n\n\"Please pass the phone to me so that the ritual may be completed.\"\n\nJessica startled. She hadn't heard anyone approach.\n\n\"Who are you?\" She asked, \"What's happened to Katie?\"\n\n\"This does not concern you.\"\n\nJessica turned around to find herself staring at a woman wearing a neat turquoise pantsuit and spotless beige heals. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and just the hint of pale pink lipstick gave her lips a touch of added colour.\n\n\"I want to know what's going on.\" Said Jessica.\n\n\"Hand over the phone first.\" \n\nWhen Jessica hesitated, the woman added, \"And then I'll explain everything.\"\n\nThe woman took the phone. It was just an old worn out iPhone. It even had a small crack on the screen. What was it that made this phone so special? \n\nThe woman flicked through the images, studying them one by one just as Jessica had. She paused at the picture of the man in the straw hat and deleted it.\n\n\"What are you doing?\" Yelled Jessica.\n\n\"He was not worthy.\" Said the woman flatly. She flicked through a few more before pausing on the picture of the young boy.\n\nBefore she could do anything else, Jessica lunged for the phone. She knocked it out of the woman's hand and watched as it slid across the pavement. \n\nJessica ran towards it. She reached the phone just as the woman grabbed hold of her ponytail and yanked it backwards.\n\n\"Insolent little girl.\" Yelled the woman. Jessica could feel her long pointed nails scratch around her face and try to make their way down to her throat.\nWithout thinking, Jessica pointed the phone behind her and snapped a picture.\n\nThe woman's hands went limp. They tumbled down and fell with a wet thump onto the pavement. Behind her, Jessica could hear the woman's body crumple into a heap. \n\nThere, on the ground, lay the woman's body - minus her head and neck, as well as a small chunk of her shoulder. The flesh surrounding her missing parts was singed with a sharp laser-like precision.\n\nJessica swallowed the urge to scream. She now understood why Katie had been so insistent on making sure that all of her was included in the shot.",
"Jessica stared down at the picture. It was of a man in his forties wearing a straw hat, plaid shirt, and faded jeans. He was smiling at the camera, with his eyes crinkled up into a warm and friendly gaze. She flicked on to the next picture. It was of a woman in her thirties. And then onto another one of a young boy, probably no more than six. Jessica peered down at each of their smiling faces. All told, there had to be at least several hundred of them. Had they all vanished, just as Katie had?\n\n\"Please pass the phone to me so that the ritual may be completed.\"\n\nJessica startled. She hadn't heard anyone approach.\n\n\"Who are you?\" She asked, \"What's happened to Katie?\"\n\n\"This does not concern you.\"\n\nJessica turned around to find herself staring at a woman wearing a neat turquoise pantsuit and spotless beige heals. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and just the hint of pale pink lipstick gave her lips a touch of added colour.\n\n\"I want to know what's going on.\" Said Jessica.\n\n\"Hand over the phone first.\" \n\nWhen Jessica hesitated, the woman added, \"And then I'll explain everything.\"\n\nThe woman took the phone. It was just an old worn out iPhone. It even had a small crack on the screen. What was it that made this phone so special? \n\nThe woman flicked through the images, studying them one by one just as Jessica had. She paused at the picture of the man in the straw hat and deleted it.\n\n\"What are you doing?\" Yelled Jessica.\n\n\"He was not worthy.\" Said the woman flatly. She flicked through a few more before pausing on the picture of the young boy.\n\nBefore she could do anything else, Jessica lunged for the phone. She knocked it out of the woman's hand and watched as it slid across the pavement. \n\nJessica ran towards it. She reached the phone just as the woman grabbed hold of her ponytail and yanked it backwards.\n\n\"Insolent little girl.\" Yelled the woman. Jessica could feel her long pointed nails scratch around her face and try to make their way down to her throat.\nWithout thinking, Jessica pointed the phone behind her and snapped a picture.\n\nThe woman's hands went limp. They tumbled down and fell with a wet thump onto the pavement. Behind her, Jessica could hear the woman's body crumple into a heap. \n\nThere, on the ground, lay the woman's body - minus her head and neck, as well as a small chunk of her shoulder. The flesh surrounding her missing parts was singed with a sharp laser-like precision.\n\nJessica swallowed the urge to scream. She now understood why Katie had been so insistent on making sure that all of her was included in the shot.",
"(1/2)\n\nThe drive was awkwardly silent as we-- Jack and I stared at the winding road accompanied by Lynyrd Synyrd playing on the radio. The sky was getting darker and darker as we went...to where, I honestly had no idea. \n\n\"Hey so, where are we going again?\", I asked breaking the silence.\n\n\"Just stay on this road for another 15 minutes\", Jack said as he kept staring out the side window.\n\nI sighed and kept on driving. \n\n\"You know, I didn't expect you to call me tonight, not out of the blue at least. I haven't heard from you in years! What happened, Jack?\", I asked.\n\nJack and I had known each other for a few years. We were college buddies. I remembered many times we were in trouble involving drunken shenanigans-- youth recklessness, I suppose, but those were times I remember fondly. \n\nJack remained silent for a moment before leaning back on his seat, adjusting the seatbelt around his torso before sighing deeply.\n\n\"I have been...busy, Mike\", he answered.\n\nI raised my brow at his cryptic answer. We fell out of contact since we graduated. I moved city hundreds of miles away while he stayed doing small jobs here and there. The last thing I recall of him was he joined a church-- weird I thought, back then at least. For as long as I had known him, he was never the religious type.\n\n\"Busy? Busy doing what?\", I inquired further.\n\n\"Saving the world...\", he answered.\n\nI couldn't help but burst in laughter. I kept laughing with the guitar solo of 'Free Bird' was playing in the background. \n\nMy amusement was met by his stoic silent. I glanced a few times to the side, to his face-- that tired face staring emptily to the road. He wasn't offended, I could tell...he was instead...burdened.\n\n\"You're...you're being serious, aren't you?\", I confirmed as he nodded slightly.\n\n\"I don't expect you to understand, Mike. This is not something the Unenlightened would know...but it is something you should care about\", he replied.\n\n\"Unenlightened?\", I repeated the strange term. \n\n\"That's what we call people outside of The Church\", he explained.\n\n\"You're still with that church? Dude, what kind of church is it anyway?\"\n\nJack put his hand inside his side pocket of his cargo shorts, seemingly grasping something.\n\n\"What would you do, Mike...what would you do when you know the world will end? What would you do to stop it?\", he asked.\n\nI frowned. I wasn't expecting such conversation that night. But I decided to entertain him-- wasn't the first time we indulged ourselves in inebriated conversations on hypothetical scenarios, although this time we were sober.\n\n\"Um, I suppose I would do anything\", I answered.\n\n\"Of course, anything\", he muttered still grasping whatever was inside his pocket. \"Even at the cost of life? Your own even?\"\n\n\"Uhm--\", I thought for a bit. \"Yeah, sure. If it means saving billions of people, I suppose. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, right Mr. Spock?\", I joked, reciting the quote from Star Trek.\n\n\"Yes, at the cost of our own life...my own life...\", he muttered, not even acknowledging my reference.\n\nThe way he whispered those last words sent a shiver down my spine. For as long as I have known him, he never exhibit such seriousness. He really had changed, from that goofy young man, full of life to this brooding disheveled man seemingly burdened by the world.\n\n\"Man, are you alright? That uh-- that church really had changed you huh\", I commented.\n\n\"Stop here!\", he suddenly barked as I stomped on the brake in reflex.\n\nThe sudden stop kicked a wall of dust to the air. Sitting on the road under the backdrop of starry dark night, it was nothing but endless desert on both of our sides. We sat there for minutes as I waited for any explanation from Jack.\n\n\"So uh-- where exactly is here?\", I asked starting to get scared.\n\n\"Millennia ago, there was a war--\", Jack suddenly launched into a story. \"A war between good and evil, a war between God and his followers, us the humans against the devil and his followers\"\n\n\"Jesus, Jack, what is this?\", I protested.\n\n\"Just listen, Mike!\", he yelled exasperated, shutting me up. \"This war, Mike! This war was everything! The fate of existence was balancing on a scale, but that scale was tipped not in our favor! The war was almost lost! But in one last effort to stop the devil, God sacrificed himself to lock the devil away!\"\n\nJack blabbered on like a mad man. That church had really done a number on his brain as he continued on and I sat there, realizing my old friend was insane.",
"\"Ready? Say cheese,\" I called out to Emily. The image on the screen of her phone I was using to snap the picture was eerily beautiful. The somber graveyard and cute little country church in the background with Emily sitting on the hood of her black Toyota Camry, her strawberry blond hair shining golden in the sunlight. There was a little chalk bulletin board beside the church entrance that read \"The Rosehill congregation welcomes Tony, our newest member.\" In beautiful cursive handwriting.\n\n\"Goodbye, Ashley,\" was the response she gave rather than the normal \"cheese.\" I still snapped the pic out of reflex, but furrowed my brows in confusion as I looked up.\n\n\"What do you mean Goo-?\" I started the question, but she was gone. The space on the hood of the car empty. My eyes darted around searching as I chuckled. She must've planned an elaborate prank. How she pulled it off, though, was beyond me.\n\nAfter walking around and searching about the area for a good while I said exasperatedly, \"Alright you win. You can come out now.\" My words were met with silence. I decided to sit on the hood myself and take out Emily's phone. Odd, she didn't have a passcode anymore. There were no apps on it other than the camera, photos and dialer sitting on a sunny sky background. I guessed it was a new phone so I turned it over to examine it. Weird, there was no marking to specify what brand or model it was. No service, No wifi from the church, just those three little squares sitting on a flowery background of mostly roses.\n\nI decided to look through the pictures. There were hundreds of photos of people I'd never met, all taken in this same location in the same style as Emily's: Sitting on the hood of a car in front of the Rosehill church. Same sunny weather, same pose, same chalkboard bulletin in the background reading the same welcome message to a different name\n\nConfused I looked up again to search the area for any sign of my friend. It was still just a silent graveyard and clear sky. I turned around to the church behind me. Still no sign of anyone, but something was different. My eyes honed in on the chalk message written on the bulletin board. That beautiful cursive on a pure black background, no erase marks to be seen.\n\n*\"The Rosehill congregation welcomes Emily, our newest member.\"*",
"\"I swear to god this had better be worth it,\" I hissed as I kept driving down the dirt road slicing down the middle of the desert. John had been insistent that we come here today. Originally I'd thought it had been for some sort of surprise, but at this point, he'd at least let me know it was for a picture. \n\nFor anyone but John, I would have turned around the second he'd said that, but John was getting really into fitness and Instagram. It had helped him a lot with self-esteem issues and.\n\nMaybe Mom was right when she said I was too nice to some people. \n\n\"We almost there?\"I asked as John stared at his phone. Just rows of pictures; it must have been some new version of Instagram that he got to see for having enough followers. Whatever. \"John?\" I pressed.\n\n\"Just like five more minutes,\" he said.\n\n\"It's been five minutes the past three times,\" I said. \n\n\"It feels like it's close,\" he said. That was an odd way to talk about the GPS. \n\n\"Fine,\" I sighed and turned up the music. At least John hadn't argued to have some of his workout music on. I was all for support, but the stuff he listened to was a little intense. \n\nI looked at John, staring at his phone. He was sweating, smiling at the phone like something big was coming. Like this was going to be a big deal. I frowned at him and rolled my eyes. \n\nSuddenly John flung the music off. \"HERE!\" He shouted before pushing me a little. I struggled to pull over as he shoved into me. I managed to get the car to a safe stop. \n\n\"John, what the f-\" I started, but he was already out of the car, running away from the road and off into the dusty nothingness. \"JOHN!\" I yelled after him. Goddammit, he was an ass. That was it; I was talking to my Mom when I got home and telling her that she was right. A guy gets a six-pack and- \"DAMMIT JOHN!\" I yelled again before taking off in a jog after him. \n\n\nThe sun beat down on me as I chased after my friend. It didn't take long for it to start burning my lungs and eyes too. John stopped, and I barely reached him. \"Here,\" he affirmed, \"right here.\" He handed me the phone. \n\n\"John we'-\" I stopped for several breaths, \"we're in the middle of nowhere.\"\n\n\"Here,\" he repeated, \"please.\"\n\n\"Fuck dude,\" I swore before snatching the phone from him. I didn't recognize what model it was, but I'd been using iPhones my whole life, so it wasn't like I had the best frame of reference. \n\n\"Please,\" John pleaded; I could swear there was desperation in his eyes. Whatever. The sooner I got this over with, the sooner I could get home and then ghost him for two weeks. \n\n\"Cheese, I guess?\" I said before taking the photo. It was fantastic. Maybe he didn't look 'Instagram hot,' but he looked so damn happy. Smiling from ear to ear with eyes that told me that was all he wanted to do. \"I-\" I started. I wanted to be angry, but looking at that face. \"Come see it, John,\" I motioned towards where he'd been.\n\nThe hot desert wind answered me. \n\n\"John,\" I repeated before looking up. I was alone out in the wastes, barely able to see my car. John wasn't there. How would- What the- How was- It was flat for miles? How the hell was he going to just disappear. I spun around to check for him, but there was nothing. Was I going crazy? Maybe it was heatstroke. Was John waiting in the car?\n\nI brought up the photo album on the phone, and John was there, smiling and peaceful, along with a thousand other faces that all looked like they'd figured out exactly what they needed to do...\n\nWhat I needed to do. I pulled the phone up, just high enough that I could take a good selfie, that I could join them and kno- \n\nNo. I needed to find someone to take it after I was gone. John wasn't being a jerk; he was sharing this with me. Everyone else was lost. We'd been found, and I just needed to ensure that more people would be found. I had to keep the chain going, to be a good friend. \n\nI was going to go home, and I was going to talk to my Mom.",
"\"Thank you, and I'm sorry.\" \n\nJanine's words played and replayed in my mind, again, again, again. The Mojave swelled and contracted behind the phone but I barely noticed; I was too busy swiping past so many faces. Familiar but not, these faces are all human, right? A smile, the Sun to the right, that cactus in the background. A novelty shirt from a Vegas casino, blue jeans. Closed eyes.\n\nThe five of us had planned such a fun vacation. From San Diego to Vegas, we'd stay three or four nights and then just drive around the Southwest wherever we felt like going. Janine insisted she and I go to her spot first, this long stretch of back highway somewhere north of Lake Mead. Why did she want to come here, and what about the others? Well, whatever I guess. I'll see her back at the hotel I'm sure.\n\nI walked back to the car, turned around. I swear I was asleep the whole way back. 167 to 264 and eventually I-15. There it is, Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas. There's Fremont, now pull in the hotel parking lot. The four of us are going to have so much fun!\n\n\"Hey, you finally made it! I still don't know why we came separately.\" My friends, they always care so much about me. I pull my phone out, ready as always to take yet another selfie. \n\n\"It's too bad Jamie couldn't make it, I guess some...work thing,\" I said.\n\n\"Who's Jamie?\"\n\n\"Oh, I, wait, what are we talking about?\"\n\nOne more night in Vegas, then we head out on the real road trip. Cocktails, slot machines, blackjack and craps. Bailey tried so hard to lose her chips to the roulette table, but after doubling up one, twice, three times on red, she threw her chips at me and dashed to the nearest restroom. I toddled over to Tanner, his mind lost to video lottery, sat down next to him, and promptly lost my ass. At least at first, anyway. Lights, sounds, Buffalo! \n\nThe last beer did me in, not the eight preceding cocktails. They lead me through a spinning hallway, up the elevator, to my own room. I only vomit once. \"Take some aspirin now, we're heading out at least by noon tomorrow,\" they say. It's all so bright, the nightstand, my screen. I set my alarm. I dream of some girl whose name is just on the tip of my tongue. Sun, cactus, shirt. A childhood friend? Coworker? No, I'd remember that face.\n\nWe were always the early birds. I pound on Bianca and Taylor's room, rewarded only with silence. A housekeeper glares at me. Why does my head hurt? Well, time for breakfast I guess. I get bacon and eggs, while you are content with a bagel and cream cheese. \"Hey,\" I whisper, \"wanna get on the road a bit early? We'll swing back and get them.\" Wait, who is 'them'?\n\nWe're in the car an instant later, Paradise near Lake Mead.\n\n\"Stop here. The view is amazing, huh? Take my picture!\" I pose, show off my new shirt.\n\nYou take out your phone. I smile. I forget, I remember. I don't know why, or where, or who you are.\n\nI close my eyes.\n\n\"Thank you, and I'm sorry.\""
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[WP] The fact that the greatest villain known to man is also a genuinely nice person to their subordinates is causing an enormous amount of turnover in the Sidekick business.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I hated being a sidekick to a hero who literally would make me do all the work and then be there to take the credit. That's when I told him, what was his actual name... oh right, Chris. I was his sidekick. \n\nI had heard through my friends, who became sidekicks to people like Chris, that the greatest villain known to man, what was his name... J? Like, he was so nice. Some of my friends actually were planning on quitting, but didn't want to without the rest of us or our bosses might try to bribe us to stay. I convinced most of the ones that were un-willing, and the rest fell in line. Soon, we were on a group road trip to where we knew the place was. I mean, we've tried to beat this guy for like, 5 years. It's hard.\n\nOnce we got there, we were stopped by some guards.\n\n\"*Why are you all here?\"* The guards asked. My friend in the driver seat raised her hand.\n\n\"Well, we kinda have had enough. Your boss seems so nice, right? I've seen your Insta, Kevin. You asked for a vacation, you got one. Well, we try to have a break, but no, we have to work our butts off so our bosses can be in the news again. We're done with that, and want to work for your boss.\"\n\n\"*Ah. See, told you, Austin. The boss is nice enough that even the superheroes' sidekicks want to be here. Here Emily. I'll call the boss and see what I can do.\"*\n\n\"Thanks, Kev.\"\n\nAnd so, we waited. Kevin had called J. J agreed to meet us. There were 8 of us. We had two cars because nobody here drove a minivan. We parked in a parking garage under the house and exited. Kevin and Austin escorted us to the lounge, which J was sitting in. \n\n\"Here. You guys may sit. Kev, Aus. Go have a break. I'm not doing anything today, and I'm sure that the superheroes won't attack since these guys have been doing all the work.\"\n\n\"*Thanks, J.\"*\n\n\"No problem. Now, let me and these guys have our privacy.\" The two left. \"Now, hm... ah. Right. Sidekicks that have come here because I am a decent human being. So, how do you want to work for me? You can guard, do the gardening, help cook in the kitchen with me, babysit, pet-sit, and a bunch more around here. Pick whatever doesn't stress you. I also have upcoming things I have that happen all at once so I probably may ask you to help me multi-task. I'll pay you all accordingly.\"\n\n\"So, we each get credit for what we do?\"\n\n\"Yeah. It's not like I like the spotlight.\"\n\n\"Wow. Can I call you dad?\" One of my friends asked. \"I was Time Tim's sidekick...\"\n\n\"Let me guess, you've never called him 'dad'?\"\n\n\"N-no. Never.\"\n\n\"Then sure. If it makes you feel better. For anyone who wants to know what to call me, directly, whatever makes you feel comfortable, and if you talk about me, it's either J or Mr. J. That's it. I have movie nights on Fridays and we vote on what we watch Thursday. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.\"\n\nAnd that's how we got to working with the villains. Chris, Time Tim, and the other heroes eventually were found out to be fake when they couldn't save anyone. We actually saved people, and J kept the heroes tied in an abandoned building while we finally got the credit that we deserved and the attention we have been deprived of. J kept his villain thing up since it kept other villains from rising up. We stayed in touch. He really wasn't a complete villain. Maybe the occasional try to take over the world, but sometimes we wonder what would happen if we let him. I mean, if he can keep his cool with us, wouldn't him taking over the world, keeping his cool, and all that just make him a good guy?\n\nNot all heroes are good, not all villains are bad. We're just human beings with a life."
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[WP] An isekai, but instead of the protagonist going to a world of magic to deal with a dark lord, they are transported to a sci-fi universe just because the isekai gods were bored.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“Jay, where are we on the latest balance pass?”\n\nThirteen hours into an eight-hour shift, Lowell “Jay” Brown leaned back in his chair and sighed.\n\n“Playtest has had the primary weapon patch for about 2 hours; if they’ve broken anything, it’s not on Slack yet. I just sent the melee and sidearms down, so it’ll be a little bit. Unless you’ve got something for me, Bob, I’m done until they are.”\n\nThe older manager attempted to adjust his long-since removed tie, then looked at his watch. “Shit, Jay, didn’t realize it was that late.” Bob pulled out his phone and tapped it for a few moments.\n\n“Taken care of. Company’s got a deal with the hotel across the way. I got you a room. All you’ve got to do is flash your ID badge. Go grab a shower, get some rest. You earned it. Don’t come back until after lunch.”\n\nThis wasn’t Lowell’s first crunch with the company, but it was definitely the first time anyone had offered to pay for him to stay in the city like this. The promotion to game balance lead for their mecha-focused sci-fi action mobile game hadn’t come with a big jump in pay, but once in a while a perk popped up, and he had no qualms with taking advantage of it.\n\n“Thanks, chief. I’ll take you up on that” Lowell laughed, grabbing his backpack before heading out the door. Following his boss’s advice, he showed his company ID to the front desk clerk, who smiled at him professionally as she handed him the keycard and directed him to his room. The door had almost closed behind him as he started stripping off on his way to the bathroom.\n\nLowell let the steaming hot water run over him, relaxing his tense shoulders as well as his racing mind. The patches the team was working on were a total reworking of how the combat engine worked from a mechanical standpoint. It wasn’t that much of a stretch to claim that Damage 2.0 (what the tech team had taken to calling the rework) was less of a patch and more an entirely new game wearing the old one’s skin.\nThis would be a make-or-break moment for Westpoint Games, and Brown was at the middle of it.\n\nLowell wrapped himself in the hotel’s oh-so-fluffy bathrobe, and checked Slack one more time. Still no word from the playtesters. Before the balance test, the beta testers were unanimous in the opinion that the game was much improved even over the last expansion. Lowell toweled off his head and started flipping the lights off.\n\nHe was asleep before his head hit the pillow.\n\n___\n\n“Next stop, Union Station. All applicants should have their IDs ready …”\n\nI don’t know how long I slept, but it wasn’t enough. Not with the headache I was suffering. Of course, the regular announcements and the low rumble of the train engine weren’t making getting rest any easier. You’d think there’d be some sort of…\n\nWait… what?\n\nI needed to calm down and take stock of the situation. My senses were telling me I was traveling by train, so my first thought was I was still asleep. After a series of panicked and increasingly painful pinch tests, I was fairly convinced I was not.\n\nNor, after finding a full-length mirror in the roomette’s (unused) restroom, did my clothing resemble the soft and fluffy bathrobe I fell asleep in. No, I was definitely dressed in some sort of pseudo-military uniform. The mirror also showed me something I hadn’t seen in 15 years.\n\nA teenage boy looking back at me.\n\n“Next stop, Union Station. All applicants should have their IDs ready …”\n\nRealizing I needed to find the ID the overhead voice was talking about, I started digging around the cramped roomette. There was a small manilla envelope laying underneath my jacket on the bed (It appeared a little too short to be comfortable, which explains why I was sleeping sitting up). I slipped the jacket on, and pulled a piece of what appeared to be construction paper out of the envelope. \n\nAttached to the paper was a not-actually-plastic card and a small earpiece. The uniform shirt had a breast pocket that the card slipped securely into – so I did – and I popped the earpiece in. As soon as it was seated in my ear, my vision filled with information, as if putting on the device had given me a HUD. Everything you would expect a modern smartphone to have, the HUD had, including an indicator for incoming communications. And it showed that I currently had an incoming call…\n\n…from God.\n\nI pointed at the button marked “Answer?” and tried to tap at it.\n\n___\n\nThe color and noise drained from the world, and a woman appeared. She appeared to be in her mid-20s, with waist-length hair the color of the night sky, wearing a white blouse and black skirt. Her face was… facelike, almost as if her features changed slightly every time I blinked. If pressed, I’d say she looked “vaguely Asian”; hey, there’s a reason I designed the gun models rather than the character models. As she sat down, she motioned to the chair behind me, and I felt compelled to sit.\n\n“I’m sure you have a lot of questions of me. We’ve got as much time here as you need.”\n\nI nodded. “What happened? Why am I here? Where *is* here?”\n\n“You died. Quietly, painlessly, in your sleep. You’ve been running on stress and caffeine for so long that when you finally slowed down for a moment, your heart went too far in the other direction.”\n\nI stared at the being across from me incredulously. “You’re telling me, I *relaxed* to death?”\n\nThe fields of stars that served as the goddess’s eyes sparkled, and she chuckled a mature, throaty chuckle.\n\n“Hard to believe, I know. Which is why you’re here, in this parallel world. 200 years ago, aliens invaded. The humans of this world banded together to drive them off, but at a cost. Humanity’s technology skipped generations: they can reproduce and use it, but the understanding isn’t there.”\n\n“Like building a dresser from Ikea vs building a dresser completely yourself?” I asked.\n\n“A decent analogy. Worse, no one seems inclined to fill that gap. As far as where you’re at, you’re getting ready to arrive at Union Station, the transportation center for the Central Union Division. You have all the skills you’ll need to get through the entrance exams. The school has all your paperwork, so you don’t have to worry about someone looking into your past. They’re also taking care of all the student’s luggage. But… If I keep you here much longer, the time stretch will start doing weird things to your body.”\n\nThe objects in the room started to regain their color, and I began to hear the environment; it sounded like someone was slowly turning up the speed on an old record player.\n\nThe call timer was still active, but just now ticked over to 1 second.\n\n“I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Jay. Keep an open mind and you’ll go far.”\n\nThen God hung up on me.\n\nI tapped the red “Dismiss” button and laughed at the absurdity of the situation. A student? At my age? I had been in my mid-30s last night, now I’m in the body of a 18-year-old.\n\n“Next stop, Union Station. All applicants should have their IDs ready …”\n\nAs I closed the door of my roomette behind me, a soft tone in my ear and a small envelope on my HUD alerted me to the presence of a new message.\n\n>Hey, Jay. A few things. You might not have noticed, but you're reading, writing and speaking Union Common; not translating it from English. “Lowell” is nearly impossible to pronounce in Union Common. It doesn’t quite have the right sounds. Sorry. The other thing, with your eyepiece display, you just need to focus on a button for a tick to activate it. Flapping your arms around is considered impolite, unless you’re working on the virtual keyboard. I'll be in touch. -- God.\n\n\n*Part 2 tomorrow*",
"The last thing Sam felt was pain. He supposed that was natural. Getting hit by a truck did tend to hurt. At least he was currently not in pain. That was good. Although, that probably meant he was dead, which was bad. It was odd though. He thought being dead would be something. A flash of memories, a bright light. Something. But around him was nothing. Not even darkness. \n\n*So, what do we do with this one?* Came a voice. At least, Sam thought it was a voice. It was more like a feeling. Something that resonated deep within his...whatever he was. Something that carried the meaning of words.\n\n**Oh, let's just send him somewhere and be done with it.** Cam another of the voices. **Let's just plop him in another D world and move on. This one's kind of boring anyway.**\n\nSam would have taken offense to that, save for the fact that it was absolutely true. He had been incredibly dull in his life. Really, was there nothing betting to be than an accountant? He did not even have any interesting hobbies.\n\n~~Yeah, but that's half the fun of sending them somewhere and watching them try and do stuff. I say we send him to 14-65C~~\n\nSam heard/felt a round of groans.\n\n*You always want 14-65 C. What is your obsession with 14-65 C? It's so generic.*\n\n~~I just like it is all.~~\n\n^(C worlds are boring anyway. We always use a C or D anyway. I want to try something different. How about we try a B world this time? 95-21 B hasn't gotten any attention in millennia.)\n\n**A high tech world, really? We always use D worlds because we don't have to give them anything, and Cs are easy because we just given them some kind of magic boost. How are we supposed to do anything for a B?**\n\n^(I don't know. Maybe like, techopathy or something? Maybe something to do with nanobots? B worlds love nanobots.)\n\n~~I still say we do 14-65 C, but I do admit that could be fun to watch something different every now and then. Oh, what the hell, let's do it.~~\n\n*Eh, works for me.*\n\n^(Yay!)\n\n**Okay, we send this one to 95-21 B and give him, what? The ability to control nanobots?**\n\nThere was a round of agreement. Sam was almost disappointed. He was just beginning to figure out what was going on and what they were talking about. He would have actually liked a fantasy world. Although, he did suppose being able to control nanobots in a high tech world might be fun too.\n\n^(Okay, I've got it all set up. Now, we doing a full rebirth, or sending him as is?)\n\n**Not as is. he'd be way too old for that. But we did a full rebirth last time.**\n\n*Just age him down to mid teens and go from there. Nice, clean, easy.*\n\nAnother round of agreements. Sam would certainly not be complaining about being younger.\n\n^(Okay, got it. I'll do the intro and let's get the show on the road!)\n\nSam's awareness shifted. He was in a flower field that extended in all direction. He looked around for a moment before seeing something that was not a plant. It was a woman. Tall and beautiful, dressed in a flowing white dress. She looked at him with large eyes that seemed to span galaxies.\n\n\"Greetings chosen hero.\" The woman began. \"I am sure you have many questions about where you are now.\"\n\nBefore she could continue, Sam finally found the ability to speak. \"No, I pretty much think I get it. I'm dead and you're going to send me somewhere right?\"\n\nThe woman looked shocked and she stuttered over her words for a moment. \"Well, yes, actually. You seem quite calm about it. And how did you know.\"\n\n\"I, uh, I kind of heard you guys talking about where you'll send me. I don't quite get all of it, but it's, like, a sci-fi world, right?\"\n\nHer expression hardened. \"You...heard that? You were not supposed to hear that. This could be a problem. Hold still, I'll erase those memories and we can start again.\"\n\n\"Wait!\" Sam cried out as the women extended a hand towards him. \"If I remember this, I can be more entertaining.\"\n\nShe stopped. \"Go on.\"\n\n\"It's like being in a reality show, you know? I can do things that I normally wouldn't. Things that are riskier or more entertaining than I normally would. It's like that other one said, I'm boring. But I can at least try to be entertaining, which I wouldn't do if you just plopped me down somewhere without understanding anything.\"\n\n\"Hm, I suppose. But would you really do all that, knowing it was for our entertainment?\"\n\n\"Like I said. I'd be a reality show. Those people do dumb stuff all the time, knowing it's for the entertainment of others.\"\n\nThe woman closed her eyes. Sam assumed it was to communicate with the others like her.\n\n\"Fine. A few of us don't like it, but we mostly agree. You can keep these memories, and those of your past life. But you had better be damn fun to watch.\"\n\n\"I'll do my best.\"\n\nThe woman extended her hand again. Sam felt something. A pulling and stretching feeling. His entire body was pulled through space and time by forces he could not even begin to comprehend. \n\nWhen it stopped, he looked around. He was in the middle of a city right out of a sci-fi movie. Floating cars and people with cybernetic parts. He even saw an alien or two walking around. A quick glance down showed that he had also been aged down, just as the beings had talked about. He glanced around some more and got moving. He had some deities to entertain."
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[WP] You are a king in the midst of the worst war in the planet. The elves and the orcs are destroying your entire kingdom. To see your fate,you call a sorcerer to see how you will die. "You'll die by...a hulking construct of metal the size of a moon.", he says.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I stared the sorcerer in the eyes: \"A what?\"\n\n\"You will die by a hulking construct of metal the size of a moon,\" the sorcerer repeated. He wore a red hooded robe that was much too big for his lithe figure. His eyes were black and playful, but his mouth was a thin line.\n\n\"So, what I am hearing is-\"\n\n\"Anything is possible,\" the sorcerer finished for me.\n\nSomething was odd about this man, and it wasn't his magical powers. It was something in the way he talked, in the way he moved, in the way he spoke...I couldn't put my finger on it. \n\n\"Well,\" I started. \"Thank you for your ser-\"\n\nThe table started to vibrate, and then it started to violently shake. My goblet fell to the floor and crashed, sending a thousand little shards and jewels this way and that. The shaking grew more intense, and I thought I heard some distant rumbling far away. A storm? An explosion? I ran to the arrowslit and peeked outside, my heart racing for fear for the worst; the worst had come.\n\nOn the horizon, a line of color was growing bigger and bigger. I tried to make out what I was saying when all of a sudden one of my royal guards came charging into the room.\n\n\"Sire!\", he exclaimed. \"We are under attack! Follow me at once!\"\n\nI quickly raced over to the door when I suddenly remembered what the sorcerer had told me. I stopped for a second and thought things over, and then I made up my mind.\n\n\"Henry,\" I declared; \"I would like to oversee this battle.\"\n\n\"But Your Gra-\"\n\n\"I would like to oversee this batlte,\" I firmly repeated.\n\nThe flustered royal guard regained his composure. \"Yes, yes of course, follow me.\"\n\nHenry led me to the long stone pathway between the two massive battlements. There were at least a hundred archers at the ready with small braziers between every other man. Ser Roger, the commander of this group of archers, walked briskly up to me.\n\n\"Your Grace,\" he started, \"I did not expect to see you up here. How are you doing?\"\n\n\"I am well, thank you. I think it's time I oversaw one of my own battles.\"\n\nThe old man smiled at this. \"I think that it is very wise Your Grace. It is known to increase morale. Would you like to lead this defense?\"\n\n\"Why thank you, but no, I just want to observe.\"\n\n\"Very well,\" Ser Roger declared, \"If you want to go back inside, let me know and it will happen.\"\n\n\"Thank you, but that will not be necessary.\" I looked around at my soldiers: some were excited, but most were afraid. However, all of my men were completely loyal and I had complete faith in them. No one can take down the kingdom of-\n\nThe line of color transformed into an endless horde of flesh. Screaming orcs wielding large battleaxes charged on massive stallions that looked to weigh nigh on forty stone. Behind this horde of beasts came the elves, who rode in golden chariots led by tamed bears or wolves. My heart started to quicken at the sight of such power, but then I remembered the sorcerer's words. Wait, where was the sorcerer? Is he still inside? I wonder how he feels about this whole ordeal. He is probably in the safe room, but come to think about it, it was awfully strange how he did not ask for any payment for his prophecy. Hmmm, very strange indeed.\n\nMy men charged the hideous orcs with such bravery and valor that I swelled up with pride. I had never really paid much attention to my military, leaving that to the commanders which I had appointed, like Ser Roger. Now, I realized that my choices were wise, as there was no way I could ever personally raise such an army as that. My warriors in their gold-plated armor and crimson capes attacked these barbarians without hesitation. The thudding of hooves on the ground and the clash of steel on steel and the blood-curling screams and cries and curses filled my ears, but I was not afraid. I looked on the battelfield like a god, sure that I was invincible.\n\nI shifted my focus to the army of elves behind the orcs, who were still making their way over the hill. Their formation became strange as their chariots started to drive diagnolly, making a sort of tactical pyramid with room for more troops to push up through the exposed center. It was an odd sight, as the troops that pushed up weren't troops at all but elves dressed in an almost priestly manner, if those animals even had a religion. The priests took their time walking up to this now exposed plot of land and formed a circle around it. A prayer to their gods, how pathetic; no gods would help them now. They started dancing around and shaking their arms this way and that, chanting something I could not hear. Then they all raised their hands to the sky like were lifting up a huge boulder. What a bunch of-\n\nMy heart froze in my chest. The ground that the elves encircled had split open, and the biggest....Oh God. Oh no no no no no. This can't be. It *cannot* be. I rushed to Ser Roger.\n\n\"Ser Roger! The saferoom, at once!\"\n\nSer Roger quickly gave orders to another man to take charge for the moment, and he then rushed over to me. \"Yes, Your Grace, follow me quickly!\"\n\nI ran with Ser Roger along the stone pathway, seeming to take forever. This metallic giant started to walk forward, when all of a sudden fireballs started raining from *my* direction towards the monstrosity. I cocked my head back and upwards, only to see the man I was talking to moments ago atop a lone turret, hurling balls of heat at the metal machine. The machine started to hurl huge metal disks at the sorcerer, hitting the stone pillars behind him and all around him. When the disk volley ended, the sorcerer started shooting back with his massive fireballs. Then all of a sudden, he made a suicidal jump off of the turret to the battlements where I was standing. Ser Roger pulled me out of the way and the sorcerer landed and immediately got up.\n\n\"Your Grace,\" he said calmly. \"We should get going.\"\n\nSer Roger and I exchanged brief look, and then we raced for the saferoom, the sorcerer on ours heels. We dashed through the castle, down down down to the secure cellar that was locked with three different doors. Each set of guards saw my face and immediately let us pass; I was grateful for their expediency and compliance. When we finally entered the saferoom, Ser Roger grabbed the sorcerer by the arm.\n\n\"Young man,\" he started, \"I do not know your name, but I saw your power out there...I must command my men, but I trust you serve our cause.\" Ser Roger faced me: \"Your Grace, I must go back up. Do you need me to post any guards in here? You can always call to the ones at the door.\"\n\nI thought for a moment and glanced at the sorcerer. Something was just so off about him...nonsense, he saved my life, did he not?\n\n\"I am fine, thank you. Good luck Ser Roger.\"\n\nSer Roger nodded his head and left through the three doorways, each one locking with a loud *click* after he passed through.\n\n\"Now,\" I began, \"I am sorry, but what is your-\"\n\nThe sorcerer was facing away from me, but his frame had grown three times as big. With one giant green hand, he tore off his robes, revealing his changed form He was at least seven feet tall and wore a bronze cuirass with crude hide pants. He had a crown of old copper studded with green emeralds and two golden swords in their scabbards. The giant man turned around and looked at me, with a wild grin on his face, and those same playful eyes....\n\n\"Is something wrong, my king?\" he whispered. \"Say it to my face; call me an animal, I know you think we're all just mindless beasts, don't you?\"\n\n\"I,I,I- I am so-so-so-\"\n\nSuddenly, the once-sorcerer grabbed my arms with immense strength. I was speechless, completely and utterly helpless, forced to stare into this madman's eyes. Then, all of a sudden, the eyes became familiar, the face somehow hum-.\n\nThe man smiled again. \"How do I look?\" I said. I didn't say it, but I might as well have; I was staring into my own face, watching my own mouth speak with a voice that matched mine. The *other* me pulled out one of the iron disks that the metal machine spat out.\n\n\"It's always hard to fit prophecies, isn't it?\" the once-orc said as he put the metal to my throat.\n\n\\-------------\n\nThis was pretty fun to right. Let me know how I can improve my grammar/overall writing!"
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[WP] You work at an insane asylum, today they brought a man that was ranting about being immortal, while looking for information on him you find he was in this same hospital 100 years before
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"In my over-philosophical drinking days, when someone would ask me:\n\n'Would you be immortal if given the chance?'\n\nI would usually deflect it with:\n\n'Do you mean like, just not-aging or just can't-die?'\n\nAnd, more often than not, they would usually respond with:\n\n'Both.'\n\nWell, on that day, I learned that the immortal must necessarily *not* be the invincible.\n\n------\n\nI stood over his body, unsurprised at his self-inflicted death. The report says he placed an M-80 explosive in his mouth and lit the fuse. I wish he didn't have to make it so gruesome, but I realized it had to be.\n\nDespite working at this hospital, I only have a 'Ph.D' after my name - I've always known I'd make a horrible 'M.D.' I could imagine someone telling me to: not ask the patients questions as if they were a case study, but as if they were a human with history. This was a hard task for me. I would always focus on the solution to the disease, but not often the patient. Some would say this is a talent, others a curse - I'm still not sure what my own opinion is.\n\nWhen they brought me in for the first time, the official cover was for 'Mental evaluation'. I was asked to: 'Assess the credibility of his reports and determine potential of yieldable research'. In my first meeting with him after finding the century-old report, he started the conversation with:\n\n\"Doc... if you had the chance, would you trade places with me? You know... body and brain.\"\n\n\"I've learned over my years that in this place the best way to understand someone is to do *just* that.\"\n\n\"It would be, wouldn't it? Well, how about this then: would you want to trade places with your younger self? Or - okay, scratch that. Would you switch places with your *older* self?\"\n\n\"Well I don't even know what my older self would be or think like, how can I even answ -\"\n\n\"Yes or no, Doc? Just a yes or no.\"\n\nI unfolded my legs.\n\n\"No. I wouldn't.\"\n\n\"That's the correct answer. Congratulations.\"\n\nI felt a unique vindication bleed from his voice. I kept silent for a few minutes. I really hated each silence I shared with him. I knew that each minute of silence felt like only a second to him and it isolated me from even *attempting* to understand this man. After the few minutes of silence, he held his hand out and asked:\n\n\"Can I borrow your pen, Doc?\"\n\nI handed it to him. He took it and began to force it through his left ring finger. In only 3 seconds, he drew blood from it. In 10 seconds, he managed to sever the joint.\n\n\"What the fuck?\" I got up and reached out to stop him. He threw the pen aside and held his hand back up for me to observe.\n\n\"I took the nerve out 15 years ago.\" He pointed to the most subtle scar just below the knuckle.\n\n\"You have to realize, this is almost a century after I found out about myself. I was crazy and curious - just the worst fucking combination of traits to have, you know what I'm saying? It looked like a string of Thanksgiving turkey tendon - like, the ones that get all stuck in your teeth? I mashed it up and put it in a Petri dish and filled it with water. *Just* water, mind you. I watched over it for a year and witnessed it condense and... take shape. I eventually got a microscope and saw it with my own eyes.\"\n\n\"No, that can't be right - neurons can't grow. They're already terminally differentiated. It'd just be cancer at that point.\"\n\n\"Doc, you're not listening. They're not just growing - they're dying as well. And not only that, they're *structuring* themselves. In perfect equlibrium - just an endless recursion of connections built and connections severed.\"\n\nHe moved to the bed to sit down as I digested his words. This man was the answer to the most impossible questions of biology - a walking, accessible fountain of youth. It sank my thoughts into the terrors of what the world would be with the knowlege nested in this man's biology. I kept staring at him in disbelief.\n\n\"I'm still growing some at my address. See for yourself. In fact, go have fun with it. You're the person I know who would.\"\n\n\"I don't understand. Why are you here? You knew this so long ago -\" *100 years, 3 months, and 14 days to be exact* \" - so what it is about here and today?\"\n\n\"Doc, how are you not getting it yet? I was told you were the best in the field - just put the pieces together. This is happening in my *FUCKING* brain - you understand? Thi-thi-this goddamn mutated Ship of Theseus shit is just on an endless fucking loop to eternity. It's being rebuilt and rebuilt and rebuilt and I just can't stand it anymore. You see, this isn't just rebuilding the ship - it's killing the entire fucking old crew and Frankenstein-ing the new crew from the old ones.\"\n\n\"I'm sorry, do you mean to say that you generate an entirely new body - and *brain* - every single decade?\"\n\n\"Maybe more like every fifty years. It's a slow fade. You start to lose memories one by one and then all of a sudden: shit, I forgot what it is to love my wife and children anymore. I have no idea who the hell I was in the 1800s or even the 1900s - I have to write these endless goddamn journals to remind myself who I am. But it never works. Doc, I've been a bad person - I've done some really bad shit in this fucking rabbit hole of a life.\"\n\n\"So why didn't you just end it? You're not bulletproof.\" Really fucking callous, but - honestly, it was the itchiest question I had.\n\n\"Because I needed to see you, Doc. I'm not ignorant of what my biology can do for people - the amount of research I could give. I've read your publications. I know how you think. I like your thoughts. And, of course, you seem like you'd be the best to know what to do with me when I'm out of here. You know both sides of this blade - the weight of this knowledge.\"\n\n\"I see.\"\n\n\"So what do you say? Are you ready to accept one of the largest weights of humanity's future on your shoulders?\"\n\n\"You don't seem at all fazed about this. I cannot, by sheer principle, force or influence your decision in this. Are you sure you want to do this?\"\n\n\"What can I say, I've had a lot of time to think about it. Multiple times. And yes, I'm pretty damn sure.\"\n\n\"What's your plan?\"\n\n\"I can't ask you to legally cut off my head, so... some explosives in the mouth. Just enough to not harm the torso bits but enough to splatter the brains. I just don't want them to keep forming connections anymore. I'm tired of them. You'll be keeping everything else - heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, you name it.\"\n\n\"You'll be the most thankless man in history. Again, I have to ask: are you sure?\"\n\n\"Just get me the explosives, fuse, and lighter.\" And he handed me a list.\n\n------\n\nI don't know where we'll go from here. When I sit on a Friday afternoon park-bench after work, I witness the connections we're immortalizing everyday of our lives. I dream of a future where humanity has learned to be the master of renewal - that we learn what to inherit from the connections before us and what to discard. I hope - oh, do I *hope* - we find ourselves not looking for a way to incinerate them, but instead for a way to understand that we, as a social and organic network, yield the most unattainable yet most fragile immortality.",
"You pinch the bridge of your nose.\n\n\n\"Gary, my dude, you have to stop telling people you're immortal.\"\n\n\nHe looks at you, steaming mad, \"But I AM-\"\n\n\nHis shout dies in his throat, and he looks at you, lost, confused. \"... S..Steve?\"\n\n\nYou nod, \"Going by Jacob these days, but yes. Good to see you too.\"\n\n\n\"Oh my God, it's been-\"\n\n\n\"A bup bup bup, steady on there, let's not get too personal.\" You set out a small paper cup with a few pills in it. \"Look, just be a bro, take these, and ill come dig you up in, what does it take, a week?\"\n\n\nGary nods and picks up the cup. \"About that, yea.\"\n\n\n\"Cheers. Bottoms up, see you in a week, we'll get a pint and catch up.\""
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[WP] In but a matter of minutes the whole world was silenced forever.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I was on my way home from work whenever I decided I would get something for dinner at the store. I went inside but it was quieter than usual. I saw the store manager leave and when someone asked why they were leaving they just stared. Weird.\n\nWhen I got home I was eating the sandwich I got from the store and I hear a knock on the door. I look outside and it was my neighbor. I go and answer the door to talk to him.\n\n\"Hello Owen, what can I do for you?\"\nI said hoping for a response but only getting a panicked look and silence.\n\n\"Are you ok, Should I call a doctor?\" \n\nStill silence. He waved and went back to his house. Odd.\n\nI woke up the next morning still confused about yesterday. I had my normal breakfast. Pancakes and coffee. I went to work and nobody talked except for me. Everyone gave me a weird look whenever I would talk.\n\nAfter work I had to pick up some groceries. No one was talking at the store, not even the employees. I got home and I saw a piece of paper on my desk, it said:\n\n\"Congratulations! No one took away your ability to talk, you are the last one. Ever since two days ago I offered everyone a deal. They could talk away someone's talking ability if the person who couldn't talk anymore got to sign the same contract. You have lasted. You can now take away your ability to talk or you can take away all the world's sound, please sign at the bottom what you want.\" \n\nI decide to take away all of the world's sound, I prefer a silent world because now people who never wanted to listen to me have no choice.",
"The mechanical beeps and whirring of machines filled the large but empty observatory high in the Swiss mountains. A lone scientist’s footsteps broke up the computer noises by echoing throughout the observatory as he made his way from the coffee maker on the far side, back to his paper cluttered desk. He took a sip from his coffee mug that displayed ‘Best Finder Ever’ before sitting down in front of a computer screen, rubbed his eyes for a moment, then putting back on his glasses. \n\nThe computer screen before him displayed a variety of trajectories for ‘near earth objects’. Objects that had the capacity to travel close to Earth, closer than the moon, but usually were considered harmless. It was Brian’s job, along with a team of scientists, to track, document, record, and monitor these objects, to ensure they continued to provide no risk for Earth. Brian liked the night shifts as it provided him less human interaction, and more time to catch up on his books, he was a sucker for romantic novels. As he cracked open his copy of ‘Tomorrow’s Love, Today’ he heard a beep. An object’s trajectory had been recognized by the computer, after receiving signals from deep space satellites.\n\nBrian set down his novel, forgetting to dog-ear his page, losing his spot. The computer was already able to recognize this object as asteroid TT-121, aptly named ‘Bigger Ben’ due to its slight resemblance to the Big Ben clock tower in London, from what fuzzy photos they were able to take last time it passed by Earth. Although, this object was 20 miles long, as best they could tell with current data. \n\n“There you are Ben, it’s been a while.” Brian chuckled to himself while typing some data into the computer which changed the trajectory on the small map of the solar system he was monitoring. This data, mainly consisting of time, date, and location of the asteroid now set it on a course to *hit* Earth. \n\n“Wait that can’t be right” Brian sat forward with his butt on the edge of his desk chair. He turned to another computer to his right typing quickly on the keyboard. The data was in fact correct. This was an object Brian’s team had only seen once before years ago and they were unable to collect enough data to rule it out as a near Earth object let alone a planet killer, *his* planet. \n\nThe large telescope in the middle of the observatory now began to moan softly as it rotated towards the direction of Bigger Ben upon Brian’s panicked commands. Brian stood, rushing to the eye piece on the end of the 6 story tall telescope. He knew he wouldn’t be able to see anything, but he had never experienced a Code 4465 Collision Course With Earth alert before. \n\nAnother beep came from the computer, Brian returning to see an update from the satellites orbiting Jupiter, displaying a message that they too had picked up a fast moving object. Brian’s breathing became heavy. He knew what he needed to do in this moment. He glanced at the large ‘ALARM’ button that would broadcast this data to headquarters in all major countries. But his feet were frozen. He couldn’t move. \n\n‘It’s traveling faster than the satellites can send the data’ he thought, ‘even if I push the button there won’t be enough time and even if the data *did* go out, it’s so large that Earth…..’\n\nBrian knew it wouldn’t matter. In that moment, all of his years of studying, learning, his entire career didn’t matter. In just a few minutes the Earth would be struck with an object so large, the Earth would burn to cosmic dust along with everyone. Every living creature. Every car, building, lake, all gone. \n\nBrian pulled out his phone. On his screen displayed a picture of his wife and 3 year old daughter. His wife was back home in the United States, and now she would be getting up for work. Brian decided to call her.\n\n“Hello? Brian? What are you doing?” Brian could hear his wife making breakfast, with his daughter chanting something about pancakes in the background. Tears began to roll down his face as he sat down in his office chair.\n\n“Hey…honey. I just wanted to call and say good morning.”\n\n“Your book that good tonight is it?” She chuckled. “Look, Sarah is being a pain this morning so I need to get breakfast done so I can leave and get her to daycare on-time. Can we chat later?”\n\n“Yea sure that’s fine.” Brian began to sob quietly.\n\n“Alright! And hey! Only two more weeks until you’re home for a month! Woo! Love you sweetie!”\n\n“I love you too” Brian heard the click of the phone. He swiveled to looked at the monitor. His best guess was that Bigger Ben was now close to Mar’s orbital ring.\n\nHe stood. Walked to the exit of the observatory and went out into the cold, Swiss mountain air. He looked in the direction of Mars, which now had a new star looking object just to the left getting brighter by the second. He took a moment to look around the rest of the nights sky. It was as if all the stars were on display this particular night. This is the view that led Brian to being a near Earth object researcher. He wanted to preserve Earth so everyone could enjoy this view. But he knew now how grossly unprotected Earth really was. \n\n“You bastard” Brian said with a breath of defeat. He still had his phone in his hand. He unlocked it going to his ‘Google Photos’ app, selecting recent memories. He began to look through photos of his wife and daughter at the beach. For a second he thought he could feel the ocean breeze. He looked up to see a wave of fire on the horizon. In a way, it was more beautiful than any sunrise he had ever experienced."
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[WP] You have the ability to know someone's age by looking at them. For the first time, you tried the ability on yourself, using your reflection. The number you get is very odd.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Ricardo Trupe stumbled away from the mirror like a drunkard. It must not have worked right because it was a reflection. He wasn't actually looking at *himself*, after all. He took another step backwards, hopelessly aiming for something stable, something to center himself on.\n\nHis hand reached the cool brass doorknob of his bathroom, immediately quieting the noise in his head. The vent above Rico shuddered as the AC roared to life, combating the harsh Texas heat. He felt like he was twelve again, jumping out of the pool after a breath holding contest– triumphant, but dizzy from the lack of oxygen.\n\nHow long has he been standing in his bathroom, gaze transfixed on his own reflected eyes?\n\nNormally it's over in an instant– Rico locks eyes with someone, and tells them he knows their age. He relaxes his body, and feels his senses briefly heighten as he focuses. Then he *knows*. It takes something out of him every time, like he just sprinted up a flight of stairs. Usually he hides the momentary exhaustion with a dazzling smile. Though his Gift is considered weak, it's totally unique as far as he knew.\n\nThe total uniqueness should have been the first clue that his Gift was more than just abnormal.\n\nInstead, Rico brushed it off as some wack rarity. Only the Specials had truly unique Gifts, and he was no Special. He knew that simple fact with all his heart, but how he yearned to be up on parade floats, waving to the masses, smiling into cameras, a protector of Earth. He wished with childlike fever that his party-trick Gift would save the day, earning himself a seat at their table. Rico reasoned that everyone felt that way at some point, but most let those fantasies die in the grade school in which they were born.\n\nHis eyes met his own gaze in the mirror again, spurring waves of nausea up through his throat. He bent, clutching his gut with a hand. He could see the strain concatenating on his face, as if trying to read his own age had suddenly turned him into a bleary eyed wraith.\n\nWhen he spoke aloud, \"I know your age,\" to his empty bathroom over an hour ago, nothing popped into his mind. He thought that would be it, that he just wouldn't get an answer. No show here, shop's closed for the holidays, goodnight to all and to all a goodnight.\n\nThen it hit.\n\nRico instantaneously lost all semblance of time, losing himself in a whirlwind of emotions. It felt like he was cramming a square peg into a round hole, over and over and over, relentlessly pounding it with each steady heartbeat to no avail. Words and phrases pulsed and twinkled like tiny stars in the sky, illuminating the spot in his mind where his age should have been.\n\nIf a passerby on the sidewalk below happened to glance through Rico's half closed curtains, they'd see a shirtless Mexican man appearing to tweak on meth– eyes unmoving but body jumping slightly as his own mumbled words escaped twitching lips. If they were religious enough, they might have even called the police.\n\nIn a stroke of luck favoring the human race, however, not one soul strolled by Rico's little green house on LaSalle Avenue that afternoon. Two years later, Rico would be on another continent, with his true Gift nearly mastered, the fate of humanity resting squarely on his shoulders.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\*Edit: I'll probably write more in the morning when I wake up. I'm not even close to done with Rico's story! Great prompt."
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[WP] I've been writing to Santa every year all my life with no reply but this year was different, this year I accidentally spelled Satan.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
" I wonder why my room light turned red, I just am writing a letter to Santa. Even though I am 17 years old and graduating high school this year, I still hope that my parents lied about Santa not being real. Although, I probably need to grow up soon and admit it… \n\n*Whooosh...*\n\nA red body sprouts from my letter in front of me, startling me. It took the form of a genie, rather small from the grand spirit archetype, like a poodle to a German shepherd. Its muscles flex and they remind me of Kronk from the memes. Then it took out a Santa hat and gleefully turned back on me. “Ha Ha Ha. Another Santa believer, huh? Let’s make this quick.”\n\n“What are you?” I flabbergasted.\n\n“There is your problem,” he points at the bottom of the letter, “You accidentally spelt my name, Satan.”\n\nI made a letter for Satan? I stared at the bottom of the short letter, and Satan picked up the letter. \n\nSmacking his lips, he puts out his reading glasses and mouths the entire letter. He reminds me of an accountant. \n\nAfter reading my letter, out of nowhere, pops of envelopes appeared, and the sounds of the appearing letters were rather satisfying. I asked, “What are you doing?”\n\nHe opens the envelopes and said, “I am looking through your lost letters, boy.”\n\nMy letters from my childhood were long lists ranging from fantasy knights, to space rangers, and to legendary detectives. Although, as I grew more mature my list for Santa grew shorter. It came to the point when I requested last year for a teddy bear, doesn’t matter if it is ugly or small. Just as long it is proof that Santa exists. And all of them have been ignored?\n\n“Ah, I should explain that Santa is on a losing streak in gambling, eh? He is a big spender after all. But yeah, he spent all of his trust dollars on Blackjack and couldn’t afford to manufacture any more toys for over two decades now. He is lucky that Mrs. Clause has been monitoring their small budget, or else they will be bankrupt by now.”\n\n“Santa is a gambler?” I just realize Santa is real, but for the wrong reasons. And that Satan the big, old, evil do-er is in my room and he just read my mind while reading my letters. I said, “Wait, why are you here then? Aren’t you supposed to be the bad guy?” Maybe I shouldn’t have added that last part.\n\nSatan stops what he was doing, and grins. I am getting grandma vibes from him. Satan pinches my face “I don’t hurt the cute boys and girls that haven’t committed a sin yet. \n\n“Plus the capitalist system will be a miniature hell for you anyways,” then Satan proceeds to read the last letter.\n\nSatan pouts after he mouths the final words of the last letter, and said, “That is terrible my boy, I see that Santa has been neglecting your childish cheers. But it is not too late.” \n\nHe looks at me with his joyous eyes. “I will eventually give you all the presents listed throughout your whole life, for a favor.” \n\n“I-I don’t want to exchange my soul for you.”\n\nSatan gave out a gentle laugh, “My boy, I told you I don’t harm those who haven't committed a sin yet, nononono—”\n\nSomeone knocked on my bedroom door and I went to open it. When I opened it, a teddy bear that can barely fit the hallway greeted me.\n\n“Instead, I want you to hunt the greedy and bring them to me, that is a suitable favor.” Satan then poofs away."
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[WP] You are sick of reading stories how immortals like vampires, angels, and the Devil roll in money, simply because they have lived for so long. That's NOT true! You scrape by from one century to another - and still haven't found a way to become RICH.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"On a long enough timeline anything can happen at least once. That's an idea which makes sense to most people. \n\nBut for some reason, in five hundred years of immortality, I've never been rich. \n\nAt first I thought I was cursed. I didn't meet heaven's standards and when I trudged down to hell to meet my eternal punishment, I got it in my head to have a look around the place. Long story short, I managed to piss off the devil enough to be permanently banned from hell. Where else could I go? \n\nI immediately set out trying to make my everlasting life on Earth as comfortable as possible. But in the five hundred years after that I fell victim to every bubble imaginable. To this day I can't look at a Beanie Baby without cringing. The less said about tulips, the better. \n\nEventually I had to admit it to myself. I wasn't cursed. No, the truth was something much worse.\n\nI just didn't have what it took. I never really got the hang of making or keeping money, even while I was properly alive. Five hundred years taught me nothing about investing, spotting inventions that would change the world, or discerning which works of art would stand the test of time. \n\nI don't want to say I'll never be rich. Five hundred years isn't that long a timeline in the face of *forever*. Maybe I'll finally amass a fortune just before the heat death of the universe. \n\nBut I've seen enough temporarily-embarrassed millionaires in my lifetime to doubt it."
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[WP] Your friend made a wish to a genie that you won’t die a virgin. That was 500 years ago.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"It sucks Clinton's friend Brittany who has been dead for centuries used Her Last Wish to make sure he wouldn't die a virgin. Unfortunately with his round stomach, buck teeth, and less than average intelligence. Clinton wasn't exactly a chick magnet that has not changed.\n\nClinton have seen species die and Live in the beginning he didn't mind living for a long time getting laid wasn't a focus of his. But after the first five decades you wanted to exchange your v card but no woman wanted to touch you. At first you try to improve yourself to make yourself more desirable going back to school starting to workout. But it was never enough the woman you were attracted to would always find someone else. You slowly stop trying you keep yourself healthy for everyone else and decide to do it for himself. \n\nOf course Clinton kept himself moderately healthy he can walk up 4 flights of steps without being winded, carry four bags of groceries in each hand and he can Run 4 blocks before being winded.\n\nUnless Clinton was going somewhere important he rarely shaved or cut his hair once every couple months.\n\nWhen Clinton might get lonely Some Nights he might open an incognito tab and take care of that. Clinton's grip strength is especially strong in your right hand. 😏😉\n\nWhen money would run low Clinton would look for dangerous jobs one of the benefits of being immortal you could do most deadly things and allow himself to get injured to throw off suspicion.\n\nOver Clinton's centuries of living he has had many jobs a good number of them were just to survive. Most of them were to help people or distract yourself from your lonely existence. Clinton traveled around the country doing different jobs he decided to be a police officer for hiscurrent job. He obviously had enough time to go back to school and joined the police academy.\n\nHe graduated last year and have been working in the local police department for about a month. He had to move out of your last place because a group of crazy tenants went around your last apartment and destroyed property and killed a few people they obviously did not expect you to be a cop. Thanks to some stealthy police work you and your family in blue handled that situation.\n\nUnfortunately the psychos lit a fire and some apartments were burned to ash including Clinton's most of his stuff was burned to ashes. Clinton were only able to salvage a box full of have singed stuff. Even he's not sure of what everything grabbed. The day after the arrest tenants came back to the building and after discovering a charred yet usable cardboard box Clinton stuffed it full with whatever he could get.\n\nPresent day\n\nClinton's lugging heavy boxes into his apartment he make sure not to shake the frail cardboard box.\n\n\"Hey you're a neighbor right?\" A nice voice said in front of you.\n\nHuh? You adjusted your head to look at the person in front of you.\n\nIt was a tall woman with long blonde hair milk chocolate skin wearing a nice looking outfit consisting of a leather jacket sweatpants and combat boots.\n\nShe looks like she could kick your ass Clinton wouldn't expect her to be so friendly.\n\nClinton set the box down and look at her as she approaches you her beautiful white teeth are Shining. \n\nShe extends her hand for Clinton to shake. And casually take a step forward and reach out to shake her hand Clinton unintentionally kicks over the Box.\n\n_Shit_ Clinton withdraw his hand and bend over to pick up the stuff that fell out of the box.\n\n_That was a wonderful way to make a first impression She is beautiful though but probably married_\n\n a few things fallout including a lamp.\n\nClinton's eyes go wide and he stare at the lamp in shock.\n\nIs that?\n\nClinton smiles his eyes watering hope and Joy makes his heart speed up\n\n_ I can talk to the genie I can bargain with her she can let me die_\n\nClinton forgot that his neighbor was here until you hear a voice beside you.\n\nThat's a nice lamp.\n\nThanks, I got it from a yard sale. I lie \n\nI can't tell her that this lamp was something my aunt gave to me.\n\nThat would lead to more questions but my family history is fascinating but dangerous.\n\nMy name is Brittany it's nice to meet you.\n\nMy name is Clinton it's nice to meet you too. I lie \n\n_That's not my real name either I've had to change my name several times. I do it in order to keep my cursed longevity a Secret. It would be hard to explain how I'm still alive after all the jobs I've had._\n\nBrittany helps me put the stuff back in the box and picks it up with one hand and hoisted over her arm.\n\nWow.\n\nT-thanks \n\nDon't worry about it. I don't mind helping I handsome man in trouble.\n\nYou blush. The heat is unfamiliar but nice it's been years since you felt like this.\n\n_Maybe I won't use the lamp yet._",
"It was the kind of thing he'd do, he always thought he was funny. \n\nThe thing is... I'm asexual. \n\nSo I've lived this long. 500 years is a long long time to live without family, without friends. I've made new mortal friends along the way, until I learned that it hurt too much when they inevitably died. \n\nIt took a long time for me to realise what was happening, and when I did I wasn't sure what to think. \n\nI remember waking up one day and realising that I hadn't aged a day in years. That I was forty and I still looked twenty, and that wasn't just a result of a good skincare routine. I talked to my friends, my family, tried to work out who would curse me in this way, but no one could think of anyone who would hate me so deeply. Then, on a night out my friend made the drunken confession that would be the root of my continued existence on this planet.\n\nI never considered intimacy at that point. It had never seemed particularly interesting, just another way to pass the time and not a particularly good one at that. I preferred films. \nNot even as my family died, and my oldest friends slipped away did I consider it. \n\nI wanted to live my life to the fullest, there was so much I wanted to do.... But what was the point of doing them if there was no one to see, no one to share it with? If a tree falls in a forest, does it make a sound? \n\nI was lonely. \n\nThen, one day, as I trudged back into my house after another harrowing funeral, they were there. The others. \nOthers who'd been the victims of botched wishes, or vampire attacks, or curses.\n\nThey filled up the cracks in my shattered heart, strengthened and guided me. When things went wrong, they were there to support me. They became my new family. \n\nCharles, stuck by a curse about time, though he never knew what made him tick. Donna, bitten by a vampire, sharp with her tongue but never with her teeth. Oliver, wished much like myself. And Tanya. My sweet Tanya, who protected us all from the world, who took my shattered heart and made it whole. \n\nNow she is going, being eaten away by herself, and I know I cannot bear the loneliness again. I go with her, and will cast off the weight of my long life gladly.\n\nI have planned my death, even if I could not plan my life. A final act of love will be my end. I think that fitting.\n\nEDIT: This got silver? Thank you so much! I'm really glad you all enjoyed my story!"
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[WP] You've been trying to shake off the strangers who've been following you, thinking they want to steal your magical ability and leave you powerless, like you've in the news. So you're surprised when you're cornered and they force you, against your will, to take ON an unknown ability.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*"
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[WP] Ever since you were young, you’ve always wanted a large family. So you’ve been picking up kids off the streets, completely unaware that they had powers and grew up to be superheros and villains.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"My family of supers\n\nEver since Mira was little she’d always wanted a big family. So by the age of twenty five, she started adopting kids who’d been abandoned to the streets. The oldest son was in his late teens while her youngest daughter was still a baby, when she adopted them. \nMira was happy for years, the kids were also so very happy. \nThough her kids were hiding a huge secret behind her back. They were all superheroes or supervillains, of course even the kids didn’t fully know about each other. Though that would at come crashing soon. \n\nIt was a normal Sunday, Mira had sent the kids to play outside in the yard, and she’d just put the youngest down for her nap. So it was time for some TV. Flipping on the tv she saw that all the channels were of a fight between Flamo and Lady Snow. Those two had been archenemies since the beginning of both of their carriers. \nThough something seemed familiar to Mira then it hit her. The way they fought was the same as her oldest two, Leo and Anna. \nMira took out her phone and pulled a group with just her, Leo and Anna. Mira hit the call button then placed them on speaker. She watched as Lady Snow and Flamo stopped fighting to look at something. They moved away from each other then the call was answered. \n“Hey ma,” Leo greeted. \n“Hi mama,” Anna said excitedly. \n“Hello my dears, you won’t believe what I’m watching on the television right now,” Mira said, her tone turning to the “one of you better explain”.\nThere was a beat of silence then both said, “I’ll explain!” \n“F-Flamo” Anna stuttered. Lady Snow looked up and over. \n“Lady Snow,” Leo said horror and shock in his voice. Flamo could be seen looking back at Lady Snow. \n“You both better explain when you get home,” Mira said in her no nonsense voice. \n“Yes mom,” her oldest said before the call ended.",
"After Janina had miscarriage we were told, that she would never be able to have biological children. After long discussions we decided to adopt. My friend's cousin died in a car accidnet, nobody from their family was willing to take the baby. We did. The twins were in foster care and didn't want to talk to anyone for months. Somehow, they opened to me and my wife. One of them we found on our doorstep...\n\nThere was something strange in the children we gave home to. Every one was Gifted. It was really cofusing at first, but finally we learned how to deal with them.\n\nIt was 24 of June. The only day I ask them to visit. It is weird coincidence I, and my wife have similar names and celebrate on the same day. But a happy coincidence. We don't ask our children to come on Christmas or Easter. A few have their own families, and others... well, they have their own lifes.\n\nTable was set for eight people. Me, my wife and six of our children. Two of them were already here.\n\n'I told you, we can't do it. Not here!' said Anna 'Laurent, you know that it is not your desert!'\n\n'It is not desert! How many times I have to tell you, that I live in Alaska now. A desert is a place without rain or snow and...'\n\n'Yes I know. But there are no people in radius of 100 kilometres from you...'\n\n'Exactly 87,457 kilometres from me lives this Inuit family, I don't know how does it make a hundred for you, but you were always bad in it, weren't you?' Laurent as always, very precise and quite irritating for other.\n\n'Hey, don't argue on my names day!' my wife, Janina interrupted them.'You have other 364 days for it' she looked directly on Laurent.\n\n'So no suprise. Not my fault. I wanted to make a nice show with the lights but we would have only the \"small and ordinary lights that don't make us suspicious\" if you want. Every time i want to do something more...'\n\nThen a doorbell rang. 'It must be Maria and Toni. They probably took the same plane.'\n\nAs I expected, when I opened the door the twins were there.\n\n'I missed you aunt and uncle!' said Toni.\n\n'And we have a gift for you!' Maria, usually calm and quiet handed us a wrapped box. 'It's a flute. I made it myself and a master who tought me how to make instruments said, that it is one of the best he ever saw. Whenever you miss anyone of us you can play the flute thinking about that person and you would be able to see, what they are doing'\n\n'And I have a carpet. It's perfect, isn't it? Just like you imagined' Toni was always giving the perfect gifts.\n\n'It must have cost a fortune! And how many times I have to remind you, that reading someones mind without their permission is at least impolite!'\n\n'You were clearly looking for new carpet... I just took a little hint. And don't worry about the finances. A detective with 100% effectivness, they better pay me well'\n\n'So we are almost all here, we don't have Zofia and Adam' I said.\n\n'I don't think Adam will come' a voice behind my back said. 'He is chased by some US agents in Paraguay'\n\n'Zofia! I'm glad you came!' she visited us on Easter, but it was nice to see her again.\n\n'I would always come uncle. For all you did for us...' she smiled. 'But I was working as long as I could and teleported here just on time'\n\n'So, if we are all here let's sit down and begin with a salad' my wife said.\n\nWe all sat down around the table in the garden. The weather was perfect, it was sunny, but the pear tree was giving the perfect shade. We were all talking, like in the good old times. Laurent was telling jokes as always and even Maria was laughing.\n\nA sudden doorbell interupted a family reunion. When Toni opened door evryone stood up.\n\n'Aren't you supposed to be in jail?' Zofia squited her eyes.\n\n'In jail?! You didn't tell us about jail Zofia!' Janina shouted.\n\n'How could I miss the most important day in a year?' Adam responded. 'And you shouldn't be so loud about that, I didn't want to upset aunt and uncle today'\n\n'At least tell us how did you come from Paraguay so fast' Zofia wanted to know.\n\nAdam pointed on the meadow on the edge of the town, visible from our garden.\n\n'Cessna 172?! It is not possible to cross the Altantic ocean with it' Laurent, always paying attention to evrything.\n\n'Only from Portugal, with a few stops to refuel' Adam smiled looking at Zofia. 'I haven't been in Paraguay for a while. I don't know why were you looking for me there'\n\n'Let's eat the cake. You can talk about all that after the party' I decided to interrupt. \"Thank you\"\n\nWe sat back, this time in a larger companion. But the peace didn't last long. Maria gave a small box to Adam, he tried to hide it in his pocket but accidentally he dropped it under the table.\n\n'What's in the box?' Toni asked.\n\n'Nothing for you.' Maria anwsered harshly.\n\nZofia's eyes widened. ' You are helping him.' She pointed on Maria.\n\n'Yes. Yes i do.' Maria stared at her.\n\n'But you know, what he did? What is he doing?'\n\n'I know what I need to know.' Maria didn't smile at all.\n\n'Hold on. Hold on. You two?' Toni was clearly suprised.\n\n'Give this box to me.' Zofia ordered.\n\n'It is not your box. Why would he give it to you?' said Laurent.\n\n'And you? Well, I should have known that' Anna joined the discussion. 'You clearly don't know what are you doing.'\n\n'So I'm working over eighty hours per week only to know, that it is not only my brother, but more of my siblings are in it?' Zofia was fuming.\n\n'You don't understand Zofia. You are wrong. But you don't know it. Yet' Adam was smiling like he always did, when he was able to win in something.\n\nI looked at my wife and sighted. 'Okay kids. Eveyone tell me their version of what is going on'"
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Inspired by an odd comment by u/shadow606.
The image of grizzled doughnut hunters tricked by carefree Boston cream donuts has resonated in my mind all day.
That, and the existence of a baked goods Serengeti.
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[WP] Doughnuts are wild game, just like deer or turkeys. They are hunted in the midnight hours, and are known for their craftiness when avoiding capture.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Seek the Sphere in the Morning Dew.\" I remembered Hunter Jammis's lesson. \"Seek the Circle in the Evening Chill.\"\n\nThe sphere and the circle. The most dangerous of games, and the craftiest. No one remembered which brave soul had first consumed the flesh of the Circle, but the effect had been immediate. The discovery of the female of the species, the Sphere, and its equally delicate flesh had intensified the hunt. It had taken less than fifty years for them to become an endangered species, and fifty more for them to disappear entirely. \n\nOr so we thought. \n\nInstead, it was eventually understood that the Circle and Sphere had learned and adapted to humanty, disappearing nearly entirely from the daylight hours. So cunningly had they hid that we feared them extinct, but now special academies trained the most skilled hunters in tracking and capturing them, to be bred and fried for their tender flesh. \n\n\"There!\" I hissed a whisper to my companion, Logas, who saw the sign and nodded. It was a flake, a broken off piece of the mottled sweet outer flesh of the Circle. Like scales of a snake, it flaked off as the Circle grew, and it was prized for its sticky-sweetness, sugary rich. \n\n\"A big one!\" Logas's eyes sparkled with the thrill of the hunt as we saw the flake, nearly the size of my palm. Stepping forward, he dipped a finger into the flake, the heat of his skin melting the flake slightly and sticking it to his hand. Lifting it to his mouth, he extended his tongue and probed the sign. \"Very fresh. Not yet sickly sweet.\" \n\nNodding, I followed the rolling track, realizing it was nearly a meter across, but so shallow a depression that I almost missed it. If not for the flake, I might have passed right by it. Instead, I gestured to Logas, who nodded and pointed in the likely direction. It went deeper in the forest, and not for the first time, I thought of the legend of Hans and Getta, the hunters who had supposedly tracked a Circle to a tower of the strange creatures, only to be captured and devoured by them instead. \n\n\"Look!\" It was the softest whisper and I followed Logas's pointing to the small clearing, where a Circle the size of a truck was rolling in soft circles around the clearing, a pair of Spheres leaping into and out of the hole in the Circle. \n\nThe mating dance, I recognized at once. Nodding to Logas, I watched him slowly and carefully--desperate to avoid a sound that might startle the beast--undo the oil pack he carried. Meeting his eyes, I rolled my neck and hefted the Fryer, the flamethrower that could sear a Circle into a stunned silence, letting us take it alive. \n\nI saw Logas nod his readiness, and I waited the Fryer at my shoulder. However, before the oil could be thrown into the clearing, I felt a tiny leaf underfoot crackle. Stiffening, both Logas and I stood utterly still, desperately hoping the Circle hadn't heard us. \n\n\"RAWARGH!\" There was an earthshaking roar, and suddenly the ground shook as the Circle began to rush towards us. \n\n\"THE OIL!\" I screamed at Logas, who threw the heavy balloon, watching it burst in the path of the Circle. Triggering the Fryer, I watched the searing jet of blue flame lance forward, igniting the oil and bursting into light and heat. The maddening addictive scent of the Circle's outer flesh crisping filled my nostrils and I laughed with wild joy as it stopped its furious roll, flopping sideways. \n\n\"Yes!\" I laughed with Logas, switching off the Fryer and moving closer. \n\n\"ArgH!\" There was scream to my left, followed by the sickly wet impact of something hard upon something much softer. Looking over, I saw Logas's headless body sway, and I stifled a scream as I saw the Sphere perched on his shoulders like a new head, before he crashed heavily. \n\nI had forgotten the Spheres! Looking around desperately, I didn't see the second Sphere until it was nearly upon me and I threw myself sideways, the heavy and oddly soft flesh striking me hard and throwing my across the forest, my shoulder aching. \n\n\"This is Hunter Koltan!\" I keyed my radio and screamed as I ran, hoping other Hunters might be in the area. \"We found a Circle and 2 Spheres! HELP!\" I screamed as I felt, more than heard, the bouncing, rolling, rumble of the Spheres chasing me. Worse, I felt a deeper rumbling and in the terrified periphery of my vision I saw the large Circle right itself, its charred skin cooked to a buttery perfection. \n\n\"PLEASE GOD HELP US!\" I was panicked now, running headlong through the moonlit woods. \"Ah!\" I stumbled as my ankle caught on a branch and as I stumbled, I felt a whooshing sound of air moving quickly and I barely had time to register one of the Sphere flying past me to shatter a tree in front of me. \n\n\"SOS!\" I screamed as I stumbled back to my feet, screaming into the radio. \"HELP!\" \n\n\"Gah!\" I felt something heavy strike me in the center of my back and I flew forward, seeing a tree coming closer and closer, far faster than it should have been. Then, my head hit and I felt nothing, saw nothing but blackness. \n\n***\n\n\"Sir, we've lost contact with Koltan and Logas.\" A voice reported to the head of the Hunter's Association, who steepled his hands and sighed heavily. \n\n\"Two of our best...\" He grimaced, wiping a weary hand over his face. \"Damn those people and their desire for the Circles.\"\n\n\"What would you like to do, Sir?\" \n\n\"Wait until morning. We'll send out a search party in the morning, when it's safe.\" Another heavy sigh. \"Damn it all.\"",
"She walked in shadow.\n\nShe tried to keep her footsteps soft and light. The midnight air was barely stirred by the breeze. The full moon shone softly like a pearl in a sea of velvet black, hanging far above and bathing the land below in hues of pale white. Without the moon the land would be draped in inky black curtains, difficult to travel and track.\n\nShe cocked an ear, hoping to hear any signs of her prey. The usual night noise surrounded her. A bird chirped. The bush rustled from something unseen passing through. A hoarse grunt made her pause, made by a beast far larger than her and not one she wished to disturb in the middle of the night.\n\nThe breeze came again and she froze. She smelled something upon it. Something familiar, something sweet. Her prey.\n\nShe followed the scent, occasionally losing it but finding it once again once the breeze brought it back to her. She tried to quiet the rumbling of her stomach. A poor hunter was given away for their lust for their prey. Yet she could not deny her eagerness. It was approaching the Harvest Moon. The prey available at this time were coming into their perfection.\n\nShe paused. A ray of moonlight fell upon a sign located at the base of a tree. It glimmered in the light, a smear of a golden orange substance. It was sticky at her touch, still warm, incredibly fragrant. She breathed deep and could not resist the smile. It was a rich scent, redolent of spices and a deep richness that could only come from an orange gourd long cooked. She tasted the substance and her tongue delighted in the sweetness broken by the spiciness of cinnamon and nutmeg to cut through the richness.\n\nPumpkin daubed doughnuts had passed this tree. Not too long before.\n\nShe followed the trail, rewarded by her observations. A dropping of sprinkles here. Another smear of frosting there. A pattern of cinnamon dust lay delicate on the earthen ground, where several had gathered and danced.\n\nA sound came with the breeze, not just the scents. The rustling grass from many small feet, small cheeps and growls. She finally saw her prey in a clearing. Her eyes opened wide at the sight. At least several dozen had gathered in the clearing, tiny rotund forms that danced and fought with one another. \n\nHer happiness soured as she saw the giant iron gourd that sat at the far end. It was a heavy thing, a pumpkin swollen in size and tougher than metal. If the doughnuts escaped into the gourd then it would be nearly impossible for her to break through. Most would make it to the gourd before she could catch them. The doughnuts were small and swift.\n\nAnother large grunt broke the night air. The prey paid it no mind yet the Huntress paused. A smile crossed her lips. She knew what she could do.\n\nMoments later a pounding beat rattled the forest. The doughnuts looked about in alarm. Some drifted to their home while others were bolder, looking for the source of the sound. Squeals of fear broke out as the Huntress dashed into the clearing. Some shook their fists at her and others scattered. They knew they could outrun her.\n\nHowever she was not the sole cause of the commotion. An immense beast chased after her. It pounded on four heavy legs, it's long plow like snout lowered to skewer her. A dough mixer, a large beast that was a vital part of the doughnut life by helping to mix the rich dough deposits, chased after the Huntress. It roared as it ran, intent on punishing the girl that dared annoy her.\n\nShe ran and at the last moment vaulted over the iron gourd, hands grabbing for the branches of a tree that grew over it. The dough mixer could not stop its headlong charge and it collided heavily with the gourd. The plow nose broke the gourd, shattered it, and it listed to the side drunkenly. \n\nThe doughnuts squealed in rage to see their home and haven broken. The angriest of them attacked the dough mixer while the more intelligent and cowardly ran deeper into the forest. \nThe Huntress landed lightly on the forest floor, breathing hard but with a victorious smile. She collected the doughnuts that were trampled by the dough mixer. The she deftly caught the ones who beat ineffectively at the dough mixer beast, knocking them out and packing them tight in her pack. She did not chase after the ones that ran away. A poor hunter over hunted their prey.\n\nWith a light heart, an empty stomach, and a heavy pack, she began her trip home. She and her family would enjoy the treats for some time, and the rest would be sold for a pretty price. More than enough before she would hunt the doughnuts again.",
"♫*In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the doughnut sleeps tonight~*♫\n\nThe famed doughnut hunter, Hammer, stopped, holding out his arm, and his apprentice Spanner promptly clattered into the mighty huntsman's bulging bicep. Spanner clattered onto the floor then, a pointed oof escaping him as he felt numerous traps and pointy bits poke into his flesh like so many incisors into a perfectly-baked doughnut.\n\n\"Kid,\" Hammer said, pointing towards the ground. \"See this?\"\n\nSpanner looked at the ground. He saw grass and soil.\n\n\"Yes,\" Spanner lied. He hoped that his mentor would help pick up the slack.\n\n\"Good,\" Hammer said. He knelt on the floor, one hand swiping away a tuft of grass, and a finger pressing into the ground. Lifting it up, Spanner saw the crystals of sugar that adhered to Hammer's gnarled, calloused finger.\n\n\"Dried sugar,\" Hammer grimaced. \"Some poor glazed was probably a jelly's dinner tonight.\"\n\n\"They... they eat their own?\" Spanner chittered into his fingernails. \"That's horrifying.\"\n\n\"Their own? Son, you can barely compare a glazed doughnut with a Boston cream,\" said Hammer, alternating his practised sniffs between the sugar on his finger and the various cardinal directions, eyes closed in concentration. \"They are both quite different beasts, to say the least--and not just in flavour. The glazed doughnut excels in simplicity, using the natural sugars in its glaze to attract prey and throw off predators. The Boston cream, however, shines when placed in its cool environment, allowing it to use its hard chocolate front as a natural shield.\"\n\n\"Is that why so many hunters bring torches? To melt the chocolate?\"\n\n\"Aye, the crutch of a less-skilled doughnut hunter,\" Hammer spat out. \"They capture Boston creams en masse by herding them into a corner, and then re-add the chocolate after they are dead. Re-add. Re-add! Have you heard of worse atrocities?\"\n\n\"No, not really, no,\" Spanner lied once more.\n\n\"Do you know why I believe in God, lad?\" Hammer said.\n\n\"No, not really, no,\" Spanner lied again.\n\n\"Because of the Boston cream. No man could create such perfection in a living creature,\" Hammer sighed. It was almost certain that he had Boston creams on his mind--who wouldn't? \n\n\"Nothing can complement the inner custard more than its very own chocolate. The taste is miles apart, lad. Don't you think so?\"\n\n\"I haven't had one,\" Spanner told the truth this time.\n\nWithin a second, the bushy moustache and bloodshot eyes of Hammer stared down Spanner's face, their wide-brimmed safari hats squishing together like two over-risen doughnuts. \n\n\"What did you say, son?\"\n\nSpanner gulped. He should have stuck to lying. Seemed to get better results.\n\n\"I... haven't had the chance to eat a Boston cream,\" Spanner whimpered. \n\nAs Hammer drew to his full, mighty length, Spanner winced and cowered, convinced that he was about to be squished like a bag of doughnut holes unfortunately caught in a heavy school bag. Instead, he felt a pet on his shoulder.\n\n\"That's a pity, son,\" Hammer said. \"No man should go without having one.\"\n\n\"Oh,\" Spanner muttered. \"I thought you were going to hit me.\"\n\n\"No,\" Hammer said, raising his fists. \"These hands are for doughnuts only.\"\n\n\"For beating them up?\"\n\n\"Lad,\" Hammer said gravely. \"If you've ever seen a sprinkled doughnut fight, you wouldn't be so snarky about it.\"\n\n\"OK,\" Spanner scratched his head. \"I have much to learn, then.\"\n\n\"And a Boston cream to eat,\" Hammer pointed northwest, right into the fading orange sun, slowly setting into the horizon, the orangest of yolks dropped into a batter. \"That's where we go, lad. That's where our target is.\"\n\n\"A Boston cream?\" said Spanner. \"How do you know?\"\n\n\"Like all good hunters do, my friend,\" said Hammer. \"By sight.\"\n\nAnd as Spanner looked towards the fading sun, he saw the most beautiful sight he had ever seen--what must be a thousand Boston cream doughnuts some miles away, stampeding against the exceeding beautiful and glowing backdrop.\n\n\"It's... it's beautiful,\" Spanner said, and a sole tear ran down his cheek.\n\nThe Boston creams got closer. And closer. And...\n\n\"They are getting closer, aren't they,\" Spanner said. Another tear rolled down another eye, and so he rubbed them clean. More than a sprinkle of panic had seeped into his voice.\n\n\"Shit,\" Hammer cursed. \n\n\"What?\" Spanner cried.\n\n\"It's time to run,\" Hammer said. \"There's only one reason for them to be scattering about like that.\"\n\nSpanner could not reply. As the sun sank below the horizon, its last light cast a ray, showing a glimpse of what he should be terrified of--a lumbering, chocolate-frosted giant plodding behind the horde, its horrifying visage and size that would find themselves recurrent elements in Spanner's daily nightmares.\n\n\"The Boston cream pie,\" Hammer said gravely. \"It's here to kill us all.\"\n\n---\n\nr/dexdrafts"
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[WP] "Watch for them in the corner of your eye", your grandmother always said. You had thought it the ramblings of dementia till this morning. Something was following you on your walk but you could only see them out of the corner of your eye. If you turned your head it disappeared.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I was diligent. Just like Grandma taught me. She knew I’d start seeing them in the peripheries eventually. Odd how she knew that much, but little else. She was never able to tell me what they would be, only that they would appear to me like they had to my father. I was diligent, and I kept my eyes peeled, but after thirty years it was hard to take the old tales seriously. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nMy father had always denied that he could see anything in the corner of his eye, but Grandma had been so adamant when I was young. I even managed to convince myself I had caught the old man staring off into space a few times when I was a boy. Father wouldn’t tolerate many questions on the subject without growing irate.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAs a grown man, married and starting to worry about whether or not I was ready for children of my own, I barely thought of the stories. I was just too busy to worry about an old woman’s tales. It was only out of habit that I still stopped once a day and tried to spot the unknown things. I knew it was silly, like occasionally trying to move a pen with my mind to make sure I hadn’t gained telekinetic abilities. Still, I had loved Grandma and after she died my little meditations became a way to remember her. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nThis morning I turned thirty two. My wife woke me with a kiss and set off to make breakfast, allowing me to stew in the comfort of my bed a few minutes longer. I never put much stock in birthdays. They always seemed quite arbitrary to me, but this morning while I enjoyed my few moments of peace, I started to think about life. Naturally my mind eventually made its way back to Grandma’s demented stories. With nothing to distract me I practised her advice of staring at one spot to see if I could spot anything hiding in the corners.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAt first it was just like every other time I had tried. I saw my bedroom and nothing else. I was ready to give up when I noticed something by the corner of the bed. Naturally my head turned and my eyes focused on the object, but it was gone. There was nothing there, just as Grandma had said would happen. I figured I was still half asleep and tried not to let the experience shake me too much. Instead I decided to take a shower before breakfast. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nWhen I was clean I found myself back on my bed with a few minutes to spare before my wife would be ready. ‘Hell, why not?’ I thought to myself as I focused on a spot on the far wall and tried to summon the thing again. This time it came almost immediately. As soon as I stopped looking, he appeared. I say he, but really I have no idea what he is. All I do know is that as I sat there staring at the wall a miniature Tom Cruise walked into my peripheral vision. It was hard to tell at first, but after a while the figure became clear enough to see. There was a two and half foot tall Tom Cruise watching me. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nA cold sweat that drenched me, rendering my shower pointless. I stayed as still as I could, trying to gain as much information as possible on the interloper. After another minute or so I noticed another figure enter the scene on the other side of the bed. This new entrant was also about two and a half feet tall, but for the life of me I swear it looked exactly like Tom Hanks. Two intruders proved too much for me to bear. I grabbed my keys and ran out from the house. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nI spent two hours driving around town in my dressing gown. I still haven’t been home. My wife must be worried sick. I didn’t even stop to grab my phone. I’ve been parked up beside an abandoned mall for two hours now. Whenever I focus my eyes across the lot the Tiny Toms start to appear. Hardy, Hiddleston, and Holland. Even a little Edison. I don’t know what they want. They don’t talk or make any sound, but if I focus long enough I start to hear the trumpets from ‘It’s not unusual.’ \n\n&#x200B;\n\nI know Tiny Tom Jones is coming for me. I don’t think I can go home until I know why."
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[WP] You've always been able to see people's auras. They generally don't stretch beyond a few centimetres from their head. Red means passion, pink love, black hate, green envy and blue neutral. One day, you turn into a street tinted yellow - the homeless guy's aura covers the whole street.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Georgie Alfred Brosco always knew he was special. Well not always always, but as long as he can remember he knew he was special. None notices if kids say a strange thing or two, they often say weird things. And he did it all the time, his so-called phase.\n\n‘Seeing colours phase’ is the favourite story of his family to tell about him.\n\nWhen he was a kid, he could see flashing colours around people. He thought he was going to be a superhero. When he told that to his parents they took him seriously at first, but when the doctor said there was nothing wrong with his eyes they just humored him. The other adults were the same, while other kids were cruel.\n\nHe was too young then, and his powers weren’t set in. Or so he believes. The colours were flashing and flickering, changing without order or reason. They stayed that way through much of his childhood and early adulthood. It was only when he was getting close to his 30ies that his power stabilized.\n\nHe was glad for it when it did. Glad he could grow up as a normal if somewhat weird kid. It was much better than a tragedy he was close to. His powers would have destroyed his kid and teen self, maybe even in his early 20ies self couldn’t have handled it. It is only now that he got his life fully in order, bought a house and had a stable job that he could use them and not be consumed by them. He was solid now, solid and stable, a rock. Power allowed him to see the emotional aura of others? That’s the best way to explain its emotional aura. To read emotion, imagine a teen with that curse.\n\nHis power allowed him to better understand people, which has uses in all walks of life. He could almost mind-read some people, those who acted according to their emotions ignoring rules and conduct. While others didn’t let their emotions disturb their work or life. He admired these people, who were well full of emotion and yet contained them within themselves, doing what needed to be done and not living in the moment of those emotions.\n\nFew years passed, and he saw something new. A new colour, a new emotion, a new aura. Auras were grouped in pairs with colours; red and passion, pink and love, black and hate, green and envy, while blue is neutral and so on .. . They didn't extend far from the body, at most half a metar, it was hard to judge how far the colours go.\n\nThere were many colours and even more shades, I won’t bore you with those. But know this, very rarely have I seen only one colour, one emotion dominating an aura. Even seeing one emotion take half is very rare, reserved for very special occasions.\n\nTo see a single coloured aura would be a surprise, to see a street sized aura would be a surprise, to have them both in the same person would be a big surprise.\n\nA very big surprise. That’s how I meet Al. He was begging in the streets. Talking with other homeless people about this and that when I approached him. He noticed I was different I think, I like to think actually.\n\nHe offered me a smile and asked me to join them, I did. So began my path on greater mysteries of life.",
"The sun shined brighter. Caleb breathed a deep sigh of relief, sudden calm overcoming him. The air shifted from a mild chill to a cozy hug of warmth. The clouds parted, beams of light crashed to the ground, scattering about the scene, painting the road and buildings in sparkles.\n\nCaleb smiled, feeling so self assured. There is meaning to life. His life personally has meaning. People care about him. He cares about himself.\n\nThe man sat on the curb, holding a cardboard sign with no writing. The man had a very plain face, looking in no particular direction.\n\nCaleb slowed his step and halted, caressed in the warmth. His troubles vanished, feeling light as a feather, he laughed, confidently put his hands in his pocket, and strutted on with his day.\n\nCaleb buckled after thirty feet, his stomach roiling. His mother's hand came whizzing towards his face and he flinched. His father smashed a dish, screaming at his mom while he hid. He froze, his teacher's hand going further up his leg.\n\nCaleb hurled himself backwards.\n\nCaleb was okay, he told himself, struggling to manage his breathing. And he did manage as he slowly walked backwards. He was okay. Life was okay. His family loved him. His children loved him. His wife loved him. He had a wife. He was not alone in the world. Caleb had a place.\n\nCaleb sat."
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[WP] "There is a message in the clouds" the unhinged lady would often mutter while intently gazing up. The world is now ending, and you suddenly realize that if that warning was heeded they could have seen it coming and stopped it just by looking up
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"What an interesting world to have arrived in. Or, at least, Ani thought so. What particularly caught his interest was the fact that despite having technology that logically would have required looking upwards, everyone refused to. Well, generally that was the case.\n\nAt his insertion point stood an old lady, one he'd initially ignored. Not so often was it he saw seemingly drugged up old ladies but it was rarer still that he'd converse with one. Mostly because they'd refuse to respond but that's another story.\n\nPoint is, it was not until he'd noticed the strange affair of people's refusal to tilt their heads skywards that he returned to the old lady. The old lady was still as he'd seen her, although in a different set of clothes. Her gaze seemed to be fixated on one spot as she quietly repeated, \"There is a message in the clouds.\"\n\nAni initially didn't want to take the risk of looking directly himself, so he took the logical next step of asking the old lady.\n\n\"What's the message?\"\n\nStill looking at the sky, she replied, \"See for yourself.\"\n\nWell, that's not ominous.\n\n\"Can you look away?\"\n\n\"Yes, how the hell do you think I get the bus home?\"\n\n\"Hmm, never occurred to me.\"\n\nSo, establishing that the clouds probably weren't going to mindfuck him, Ani looked as the old lady did. What he saw... shattered him. High in the sky, illuminated brilliantly by the evening sun was a single word,\n\n\"Gullible.\" (In comic sans.)\n\nAfter he'd gotten over the initial shock, Ani turned back to the lady to ask, in a quiet voice, whether the mesage was a metaphor.\n\n\"How should I know?\" The old lady replid briskly, \"I can't read.\""
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[WP] A wizard enchants a large model train layout to be a place the terminally ill can live without pain while he works to cure them.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"In their bedroom upstairs Dinah’s husband was dying alone. He was unconscious, though that did nothing to ease her guilt, but she couldn’t face him, hadn’t been able to for nearly a week since it became clear that her magic could do no better than the chemo had. She’d been sequestered in the basement the entire time, lights dimmed, thick clouds of incense hanging in the air and mixing with the sparks of magic that fell from her lips as she crafted what she’d sworn would be her final spell if it didn’t work.\n\nSomewhere above her Dinah imagined the Weaver at her loom, squinting at the little run within the fabric, tracing her a gnarled finger along the disturbed lines of Dinah’s working.\n\nMore sparks, purples and blues, the occasional sapphire streak. They fell her lips to mark the ends of magical sentences, to join thoughts and phrases. They linked impossible concepts to impossible words, and they whirled around in the air above the artificial mountain that took up six feet of their basement, like some fantastic harbinger of a magical volcano.\n\nAll the while the train ran its proscribed circuit around the mountain, and every time Dinah looked at it she struggled not to cry.\n\nTom had built the mountain himself. He’d laid the track, carved the cars, enchanted little wheels to draw power from the air as they chugged along endlessly. In all of his spare moments Tom had always himself down here, tinkering with his small magics, and every time he’d come back upstairs he’d seemed so happy. And every time he did Dinah had dismissed it as just another eccentricity. She hadn’t really listened to him as he talked about coal furnaces and track gauges, and the whole host of other inanities he’d gone on about.\n\nShe regretted all of that and more now. Dinah had never wanted to hear about track gauges so badly in her life.\n\nMore sparks fell. After a week the spell was nearly complete. The hand carved sleeper car five spots back from the engine was glowing now, an ethereal whiteness that seeped out of the windows, flashing at Dinah every time it peeked out from behind the track’s scenery. It was none too soon. Tom’s heartbeat was fading quickly upstairs, Dinah’s familiars were stretched in a chain all the way from bedroom to basement whispering updates to her, cats, mice, birds, serpents, and the bull mastiff Tom had bought the year before his diagnosis, each passing warnings in their own tongues.\n\nThe magical maelstrom reached its climax, shimmering, lighting up the dark basement like a second rainbow sun, and then flaring out, all the lights racing down into the sleeper which decoupled itself from the train to hang in the air, wood panels writhing like liquid as the energy boiled through it.\n\nDinah reached in before it had even cooled and seized the car. As badly as her skin was scalded she didn’t care, there wasn’t any time for her.\n\nDinah threw open the door on the basement stairs with a word. The animals were all clustered there save for the dog, chirping and mewling and hissing, an awful din that amounted to nothing more than word “HURRY!”\n\nShe hurried, and they all followed in her wake.\n\nA train of bodies burst into the bedroom, all falling still as soon as they soon him.\n\nIn the past week Tom had deteriorated. He’d always been a strong man, broad shoulders and a barrel chest, a bushy red beard he’d been alternately teased and praised for. He’d shrunk so small that he seemed to weight less than mastiff beside him. The dog whined, staring at the sleeper car in Dinah’s hand as if it knew.\n\nDinah sat in the too long abandoned chair beside Tom’s bed and whispered the words of a waking spell. Tom did not wake.\n\nShe tried again, a different spell this time, different words. The same result. His breathing was so faint as to be nonexistent, and when she consulted the aura of the life support tablet next to him, Dinah could hardly even see Tom’s vitals.\n\n“Please,” Dinah whispered, taking his hand. It was the first time it had ever felt small to her.\n\nTom did not wake.\n\n“Baby please, I need to know if I’m doing the right thing.”\n\nDinah had imagined this moment a million times in the past week but she’d never been to decide if she the right to. She wanted this more than anything. Her magics had failed, the doctors had failed, but she couldn’t believe that they always would. There was a chance that sometime far in the future, perhaps even when she herself was gone, that someone would find a way to cure Tom. She wanted to do everything in her power to give him that chance.\n\nBut could she? Could she deny him whatever lay beyond?\n\nDinah laid her cheek against the bony hollow of his chest, letting her tears fall against the blanket. “Tom, I’m so scared. I don’t know what you want, I don’t know whats right anymore.” After a few moments she stood, leaned over her husband’s unconscious body, and whispered into his ear.\n\n“I can let you go. I can let you go and find whatever the Weaver made for us to find, or I can try to buy us another life. I can heal you some day, I know I can. Please baby, give me some sign!”\n\nDinah kissed him. Her lips worked against his as if against a statue’s. They were colder than they should be, she was sure of it, and they didn’t move at all. She felt the faintest pressure upon her hand.\n\nBreaking the kiss Dinah let out a girlish squeal of amazement, staring down at his hand in hers. She wasn’t imagining the pressure, it was there, Tom was there, somewhere. “Thank you,” Dinah whispered, kissing him again. His lips almost seemed warmer.\n\nThe train car still glowed though it was cool to the touch now. Dinah arranged Tom’s hands palms up on his stomach and laid the car into them, returning it to its maker. She kissed him a third time, triggering her memory charm to capture what might be the very last kiss they ever shared, and then she began to whisper the spell.\n\nThe animals crowded closer. Silas the cat jumped up onto the nightstand. The birds alighted upon her shoulders, the others encircled her feet. The dog licked Tom’s face once and was silent.\n\nFaint specks of ethereal white began poking through blanket, and then a moment later thourgh Tom’s skin. His eyes became liquid pools energy, his aura writhed with life for the first time since he’d come home. The sleeper car rose into the air, trembled, and then fell to an empty bed.\n\nWhen she looked in through its tiny window, Dinah saw Tom on one of the beds. He looked as if he were worked in wood too, all his features were there, but slightly sharper, more angular. He had a certain graininess to him, a rigidity even in sleep.\n\nBut his chest rose and fell with real, deep breaths.\n\nThe dog howled, curling up where it’s master's body had been. Despite that, Dinah thought the house had never been so quiet.\n\nr/TurningtoWords",
"Alex unfolded the shutters and hung his head out of the carriage window. The cool evening rushed over him and the wind ran its fingers through his long hair. Evening was falling on the purple mountains that surrounded the train, brush-stroking the tips orange, as if they were on fire. There were always mountains. Always. The train curled around hundreds of miles of them, often in snow, often climbing or descending, but never stopping. The winding, silver tracks made Alex think of chains. As if they shackled the mountains themselves.\n\nThe wizard lived on one of those peaks, so the rumours said. Rumours that dominoed up and down the carriages, that walked them like whispering ghosts. The same rumours that said the wizard’s sick child was on board in a private carriage at the front. And that the train itself was a thousand carriages strong now.\n\nHow long had Alex been on the train? The last thing he remembered before his arrival, he’d been in a tavern, coughing up blood into his soup, rasping for breath that burned his lungs. He’d been coughing a great deal in the months prior, but never as badly as that. A man and a woman — he couldn’t remember their faces — took an arm each and carried him to a wagon. He’d woken from his fever only once or twice on the journey, could only remember rainfall and the beating of hooves as if they were his heart.\n\nHe still coughed blood. Spat into a metal bucket that was emptied at the end of each day by a pale young man in a red uniform who never spoke a word — had never even opened his mouth, as far as Alex had noticed. His skin glistened and reminded Alex of porcelain. He was the same man who brought them food and drinks and new bedding, daily. Who wore a key around his neck that kept them prisoners.\n\nA hand touched Alex’s shoulder. “Have you had your medicine yet, friend?”\n\nIt was an elderly man who’d only been moved into his carriage three nights ago. He held out a mug of something green and that smelled as sweet as sugar.\n\n”No I haven’t, Pokume” said Alex. “In the years I’ve been here, none of the medicines have helped do anything other than put me to sleep. So tonight, I might not take it.”\n\n”The wizard’s trying to help us,” said Pokume. “He only wants to cure us.”\n\nTheir carriage held four beds, as well as a bathroom. Currently, it held Alex, Pokume, a middle-aged lady named Claudia (who was snoring softly from a corner), and a teenager called Rouse (who was snoring very loudly in the gaps between Claudia’s snores). The two snorers drowned out even the low rumble of the train.\n\n“Besides,” said Pokume, “he keeps us alive. That’s what the medicine does. So take it. Please. I don’t want to see you come to harm.”\n\n“No.“ Alex raised a dismissive hand and sat on his bed. “I’m not ready to sleep. I want to see the moon tonight. I’ve not seen it in a long time.“\n\nThe old man sat next to him, still holding the drink. “If you don’t sleep soon, the guards will come and they’ll force it down you. Trust me, I know about these things.”\n\n“I’m sure you do,” Alex said, the sarcasm clear on his tongue.\n\n”Why do you think I was moved here? Someone in my old carriage went a night without their medicine. She was forcibly removed that night. The rest of us were split up the next day, taken blindfolded up or down the train. Which way, who can say for sure?”\n\nAlex shrugged. “People get moved around all the time.”\n\n”Maybe so. But I don’t think we’ll ever be seeing that lady again.”\n\nAlex looked over to the old man’s bed. Pokume’s own medicine sat in a mug on the table next to it. “You haven’t even taken yours. That’s a bit hypocritical, don’t you think?”\n\n”I’ll take it once I’m sure you’ve taken yours,” said Pokume. “We’ll all be in the sewer if one of us goes without.”\n\nAlex let out a long sigh, making sure Pokume could hear it. “It’s not the medicine that keeps us alive. It’s the train. The medicines change all the time. Sometimes it’s pills, other times it’s liquids. There was a week when I wasn’t given any medicine at all.“\n\nThe old man tilted his head. “Is that so?”\n\nHere was another ghost with a rumour in its mouth, preparing to wander wraith-like up and down the train. “Yep. That’s so.”\n\n”The train? Huh. I always thought...”\n\nAlex stared out of the window. The sun had been swallowed by the mountains and its last rays skimmed the sky like pink stones over a lake. “I wish it would just stop. I wish I could get off.”\n\nThe old man frowned. “Not a good idea — if it really is the train keeping us going.”\n\nHe looked at Pokume with wide eyes. ”That’s *exactly* why I want to get off. You know, I was twenty when I boarded? I’d known little of love or life or anything else. Little of the world. I wanted to see it all.”\n\n”And now?”\n\n”And now I’ve had quite enough of it.” His shoulders sank. “I‘m in pain from day until night. I have been for however many years I’ve been trapped here. And everyday is a repeat of the previous, nothing more. Food, sleep, pills, more food, sleep, pills.“\n\n”There are books.”\n\nAlex laughed. “There are! Such wonderful broad forms of entertainment available to us. No, I don’t want books. I want off.”\n\nPokume looked at the window. “You know... There are still ways off without the train having to halt.”\n\nHe meant jumping. Jumping out of that window and into oblivion. Would he just fall apart once he left the train? Was he like a body that had been held together up to now by magic, and as soon as he left he’d quickly decompose? Or would it be slow and painful? Wasn’t it slow and painful already, though? So very, very slow.\n\n”I know. But I’m a coward. I want to die, but I can’t do it. I’ll never do it, and I know that. I’ll sit here until the sun turns cold, I should think, before I jump off or step off the train myself.”\n\nThe man grunted and ran a finger over his wedding ring. “Perhaps it’s braver to live. To not lose all faith.“\n\nAlex wanted to ask about his wife. Would she be waiting for him, if and when he was cured?\n\nAs if Pokume had read his mind he said, “I walked out and left her a note saying I was soon to be dead, that she was to carry on and be happy again, in whatever form that happiness came. I suspect she’s done just that. And in fairness, I did think I would be dead soon! I’d been ill for a long time.”\n\n”What happened?”\n\n”Well, I headed towards a steep cliff, but blacked out before i made it all the way. When I woke up, it was to the rumbling of the train. I thought, for a moment, I’d died and woken up in my mother’s belly. That it was all starting over.”\n\nThey sat in companionable silence for a while, as the sky grew ever darker. As if curtains were being slowly drawn across the day.\n\nThat’s when Alex noticed it. Or didn’t notice it, would be more accurate. “Listen,” he said. “Do you hear it?”\n\nPokume cocked his head. “The train?”\n\n”The fact that you can hear it.”\n\nIt must have taken a moment for this to sink in, but then Pokume was up. “They’re not snoring,” he said, as he stepped over to the lady. “Are you awake? Is that it?” He pushed her shoulder. Then again, a little firmer. But she didn’t stir.\n\nAlex was up and by the young man. He didn’t try to wake him; instead he held a palm to his mouth and waited for a breath that never came.\n\nAlex’s spine became hard and cold like ice.\n\nPokume was trembling as he picked up an empty mug by the lady’s bed. “Is yours... Is the mug there empty too?”\n\nAlex nodded. Then glanced at their own full mugs.\n\n”Shit.”\n\n”Shit,” Alex repeated.\n\n“Could be a coincidence,” said the old man. “They might have just died... not related to the medicine.”\n\n”But it’s not, is it?” said Alex. “No one dies on the train, so we’re told. The wizard isn’t trying to save us. I wonder how many really die? You’d have to wipe out an entire carriage, if one person died in it, to contain any rumours.”\n\n”Gods. Why would the wizard do this?”\n\n”I think he’s using us. Testing different medicines on us. It doesn’t matter to him — or to anyone else — if we die, as we’re as good as dead anyway.”\n\nHe thought of the man and woman who had helped him out of the inn and brought him here. Always wondered where that kindness came from, the money they must have spent on such a long journey for a dying stranger. But perhaps it made sense if the wizard paid them when they brought him new test subjects.\n\nAlex looked at his mug of medicine again. Then, he laughed. He didn’t want to but he couldn’t help it.\n\n“What?” said the old man.\n\n”Sorry. It’s just... I talk of wanting to die but of being too afraid. And now, because I wouldn’t listen to you, I’ve missed my opportunity. Missed my train, so to speak.”\n\nPokume grunted. “So, what now? I suppose you’ll get your wish if we’re found still alive. Now that we know what the train is for.”\n\n”I’m too much of a coward to let them kill me.”\n\n”You’re a strange man,“ said Pokume. “You’re like a fire that loves water.”\n\n”We need leverage,” said Alex, ignoring him. “We have to find the girl.”\n\n”What girl?”\n\n”The wizard’s daughter.”"
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[WP] Everyone else thinks your best friend is just a crazy cat lady with a side interest in birds. You know better: the cats are her army and the birds are her spies. And the only thing protecting the world from her wrath is YOU.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Your best friend Edith has been reclusive lately. She hasn’t responded to texts or phone calls. She’s always been an odd person, but her friends are her cats and birds. She’s even developed a strange affect where she makes bird-like movements. You decide to pay her an unannounced visit in the early afternoon.\n\nShe lives in an old wooden house built in the 1800s. It looks haunted but it is perfect for Edith’s aesthetic. The front door is always locked but you know how to get by the back door. As you enter, her cats cry and meow and rub on your leg. They seem hungry so you feed them and fill their empty water dish. “Edith?” You call. You walk into the Great room. You see her laying on the couch asleep. You check to see if she is well. She’s in a deep sleep but breathing normally. In front of her is a coffee table with a near empty glass of wine and an antique medicine bottle. You pick it up. “Laudanum” it says. It must be as old as the house, maybe even older.\n\n“This must be good stuff,” you think. You decide to try a little while you wait for Edith to wake. You take the wine glass and purse it to your lips. You can smell the scent of the old medicine in the mixture. Then everything becomes a blur. The dark gray tones of the old house melt and are replaced with swirls of vibrant wine colors. It’s terrifying and dizzying but beautiful. You close your eyes and slump back. Your brain jolts with a deep migraine headache.\n\nMoments later you open your eyes and find yourself in a chair. Edith is peering over you.\n\n“What a surprise! I’m so glad that you came.” She says.\n\n“I’ve called and texted you and…”\n\n“I know. I’ve just been busy. Watch this. I can talk to my cats!” She sounds thrilled.\n\n“You always have.”\n\n“Not like this.” One of her cats says. Your jaw drops. “Thank you for the water.” Another says. They cackle in delight at your expression. They move much more deliberately than before. They seem almost human but in cat bodies.\n\n“Edith do you have any headache medicine?” You ask, realizing how ridiculous it is that you have such a mundane request. Your head is throbbing though. Maybe after an Advil you can better understand what’s happening.\n\n“Oh, yes. Of course. I have the perfect thing for you. She leaves to the bathroom. While she is gone one of her blue macaws looks at you with a side-eye.\n\n“We didn’t expect you.”\n\nYou don’t know what to say. Edith returns with another antique bottle. “This will do. It’s better than Advil.” She pours you some in a small crystal glass. You drink deeply and everything goes blank.\n\nYou wake up but have no idea how long you’ve been gone. She was right though. Your headache is gone. In fact, you feel far better than normal. The colors around you have faded a little. The world looks grayer again. The laudanum must have worn off a little. You realize that you’re in Edith’s bed and the lights are out. The door is shut. You get up to try the door, but it is locked.\n\n“Coo.” You hear from the window.\n\n“Coo. Come here.” You see a pigeon. It’s outside the house but it’s managed to stick its beak through a small crack in the window.\n\n“Do not trust the Crow witch.” It speaks.\n\n“WHAT?” You shout at it. What the hell does that even mean?\n\n“Shush! Not so loud. That is not your friend. That is a crow witch, and she is going to bring war. You must stop her.”\n\n“Stop her from what? Why should I trust you?” You ask.\n\n“That is for you to decide human, but you must stop the witch. She will bring war to both of our worlds. She will bring our magic to slaughter your people, but I know your people. You will bring your guns and missiles to slaughter ours. You must stop her to save our worlds.” The pigeon stares at you as if it was waiting for you to say some grand speech.\n\n“Umm. Okay? I don’t know how.” You respond.\n\n“Take this elixir. It is a potent magic that will bind her to this world. If she cannot return to yours then she cannot bring war. Quickly, I will be discovered if I stay here any longer.”\n\nThe pigeon pushes a small black vial through the crack in the window. You pull it out bewildered. You hear the sound of the door unlocking. It’s Edith. She stares at you gauging your reaction while waiting for you to speak. You can’t let her know what just happened.\n\n“Edith. Thank you so much for taking care of me. I’m feeling better. Much better. Can we maybe open another bottle of wine?”\n\nShe looks relieved. “Of course! Let’s try something special. I know just the one.” Her cats snicker and make unbelievably mundane small talk.\n\n“I saw a mouse earlier.” One cat says and stares at you expecting some reaction.\n\n“I just took a nap but I could go for another one.” Another cat exclaims into the open air.\n\nYou follow Edith into the kitchen. She opens the bottle and pours two glasses of burgundy. She begins telling you about all of her cats and all of the amazing things that they can do. “They’re just like humans. Better even. They can do everything a human can.” She rattles off. You have to find a way to put the elixir in her drink. The world seems grayer again. It’s almost back to normal. It seems like you are slowly returning to your world.\n\n“Can you show me the bottle of Laudanum? Where ever did you find it.”\n\n“Oh that?” She says. “I found it under an old floorboard. I really took a risk taking it but I am so glad that I did. That must be how we learned to talk to these cats.”\n\n“Can you bring the bottle? I want to read it.”\n\n“Of course. Yes. You just said that. Sorry, I’ll go get it.” She leaves and you slip the elixir in her drink. She comes back.\n\n“Here. There’s not much to read.” She hands you the bottle and continues to make chitchat. You are almost sweating with nervous energy. What if she discovers you? What if she’s a crow witch? What the hell is a crow witch? Whatever it is, I don’t want it to be mad at me.\n\n“Edith. Can we switch to white after this? Red always gives me headaches.” She smiles and takes the hint. She brings the glass of burgundy to her lips and a drop falls into her mouth.\n\nShe shrieks. It sounds like she is dying. You scream. A bright white light flashes in front of you while she continues shrieking. “You trusted the pigeon?” She screams. As the light fades you begin to see her. She is not a crow. She is a dove and a beautiful one at that. She doesn’t look like a witch, more like a princess. The light fades entirely, and you are back in Edith’s drab gray house in your world.\n\nHer cats prowl around like normal everyday cats. Her birds return to being pets. Edith is gone. She must still be in the other world. She’s stuck there and it is because of you. But was she a witch? A princess? What the hell was she? Was she a bird the entire time? You stand completely bewildered.\n\nIn front of you is the antique bottle of Laudanum with a few teaspoons left inside. The bottle of burgundy stands next to it only half empty.",
"\"Hey, Edith!\" I said, squeezing through the door to keep any of the cats from escaping. Immediately a grey tabby was rubbing up against my legs. \"Oh hi…” I paused, trying to tell who it was “Geoff.\" I reached down and scratched him behind the ears, eliciting a low purr.\r\n\n“Oh, oh, yes, you were coming- right! Hi Hazel. I see that Henry has already welcomed you,” (Geoff and Henry were twins, so I was close, at least.) “...but feel free to have a seat!” She picked up an armful of cats from the couch and put them in a perch at the nearest scratching post. Half of them jumped down and swarmed my feet as I moved toward the chair.\r \nEdith stroked her cat. “So, a little bird (Philis, I think) told me that you went on a date last night. How’d it go?” \r\n\nThe breach of privacy was unnerving, but not unexpected. “Uh, it went pretty well I think… your birds were watching?”\r\n\n“Oh yeah, it’s nothing special, they’re everywhere nowadays, and they just can’t keep their mouths closed. You know how that is- Anyway, I’m glad your date went well, people are terrible, so that’s a nice surprise.”\r\n\n“Remember, both of us are, uh, people as well...”\r\n\n“Oh well, it’s not our fault, though. I do my best. I think I can manage to make things better on Friday, I just got the launch codes.”\r\n\n“Launch codes!?”\r\n\n“Oh, just the nuclear launch codes. Lauretta happened to overhear…”\r\n\n“Waitwaitwait… NO! Don’t do that! That is not good!”\r\n\n“But people-”\r\n\n“If you blow up the world, it’ll kill all the animals as well.”\r\n\n“Well, I guess you’re right.” A cat (juniper, I think?) jumped up on her shoulder, and she tickled behind his ears. “Sorry Junipuni,” (I was right this time!) “I can’t get rid of all those meany-weany human-pantses quite yet.” \n\n\rI sighed, then reached up to pet one of the cats sitting on the back of the chair behind my head.\r\n\n“Oh!” She set Juniper and two other cats to the side and stood up. “Look at the time! I need to put out some seed for the birdies!” \r\n\nShe was really a sweet old lady. She just got a bit carried away sometimes...",
"##Modern High Priestess\n\nEvery neighborhood has a depilated house. The wood is rotting, there is dirt on the yard instead of grass, and every window is broken. The owner is usually elderly and has a few singular obsessions. Neighbors wish that the house would be destroyed, but the owner is always able to weasel out of any homeowner association and any other regulating body. Gods can still exert influence over the world even if we have spent years trying to ignore them.\n\nAs a child, my parent's told me to avoid the crazy cat lady's house down the street. I loved animals which drew me to her house, but they warned me that the cats would have rabies or other diseases. Every morning, crows would cover the sky and converge on her house. She would go outside and feed them while the cats collected the items they brought her. I was in awe of the ritual, and I brought out some ham for the crows to try to bring some to my house. My parents stopped me immediately. \n\nAs with all taboos, when I entered my teenage years, I started visiting her house. The first day I got up early to watch the crow ceremony up close. It was astonishing. The crows were bringing her jewelry and artifacts. Some of the designs suggested that they were from other countries and continents. I dismissed this thought and assumed that they were from a museum or jewelry store, but it was still impressive. The cats were also extremely precise when it came to retrieving the trinkets off the ground and returning to her house. Even if the cats looked mangled, they still behaved better than most cats that I've seen.\n\nThe old woman saw me on the first day and smiled. I ran away out of fear. Throughout school, I kept seeing a cat in the window watching me. When I returned, I found a small necklace on my bed that fit me perfectly. I locked it away and refused to wear it out of fear. \n\nIn spite of the odd occurrences, I went back to her house in the morning a few weeks later. She didn't look at me, and there were no cats at my school or jewelry on my bed. I visited her a few more times after that. I did not formally introduce myself to her until one day when I was walking home I came across a cat that had its foot stuck in the gutter. It was serene as I approached it and removed its foot. When I knocked on her, she opened it with a smile.\n\n\"I was wondering if you would ever speak to me so I arranged a visit for myself,\" she gestured into the house, \"Come sit down.\"\n\nI obeyed and tried handing her the cat, but she told me to keep it. The interior of her house was pristine and opulent. Artwork and sculptures were prominently on display in every room. In spite of the cats, nothing was covered in fur. When we sat on the couch made of velvet, the cat finally left my hands.\n\n\"So I must ask why are you not wearing the necklace I gave you?\" her face loses wrinkles as I talk to her.\n\n\"I was confused and scared,\" I feel compelled to to tell the truth. Her gray hair slowly starts to acquire a red color.\n\n\"People these days just don't trust their neighbors,\" she says.\n\n\"Well, I am sorry it is just that you have a bad reputation in the town,\" I say. I put my hand over my mouth and widen my eyes. She laughs at the comment, and her voice gets higher with every note.\n\n\"There are many places that do not view me positively, Vera. I would rather be seen as a crazy lady than a traitor or murderer,\" she says.\n\n\"I am not surprised that you know my name, but I have to ask. Who are you?\" \n\n\"I have visited this world multiple times yet my true face has been forgotten,\" her transformation to a young woman is complete, and I know her name, Freyja.\n\n\"What is the queen of the gods doing in Iowa?\" I ask.\n\n\"It reminds me of home. Plus, in this housing market, it isn't like I could afford to move to California,\" she laughs at her own joke before looking at me again, \"On a more seriousness note, I understand that you have school soon. I will let you go to school, but you must come to my house afterward wearing the necklace I gave you.\"\n\nI googled her during class and read everything that I could find on Freyja. From her son's death to her marriage to her time with Vanir, I read every story on her. I broadened my horizons further to research what I could on Norse Mythology and culture. A few teachers yelled at me for looking at my phone. After school, I grabbed the necklace and ran to her house.\n\nWhen she opened the door, the rest of the house was replaced by a tube of rainbow light. I read that the bifrost was a rainbow bridge, but the bifrost is a bridge on multiple levels. It warps space, time, and gravity. Travelers will have their minds and bodies altered to allow for survival on the new planet. It can even reshape a soul.\n\nWe rode down on it on her chariots of cats. The destination was an endless garden with flowers from across the universe. There was a small gazebo by the pond that she escorted you. A raven sat next to her, and she petted the raven. \n\nShe explained to me that as the gods have lost influence in the world they have taken to influencing other spaces. This shift caused mass infighting among the pantheons. She hid in Iowa from her son Thor who betrayed her and Odin. The two of them still plotted in tandem to regain lost power and influence. The artifacts that the ravens brought were Odin's method of communicating. \n\nShe lastly asked me to be her high priestess. A worshipping human on Earth would increase her powers and expand her influence. She said that it would come with massive benefits. I immediately accepted.\n\nI am still reaping the rewards of that deal. Because of her, I have amassed a business empire of my own on Earth and a large fortune. I own several houses across the globe and a plane to fly to all of them. In return, Freyja lives in a house that I bought for her. I make sure to obey any instructs she sends to me through her cat, and I routinely perform sacrifices to her. \n\nMy friends and family wonder why I care so much about the crazy cat lady. They wouldn't question if they knew that she provided them, and they would be begging for her mercy if they found out that she regained her position as queen of gods. All of humanity would bow to her when they realize her plan for revenge.\n\n---\n\nr/AstroRideWrites"
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[WP] You are the city's worst supervillain. Super because you have all the regular powers like flight, invulnerability and super strength. Worst because you were previously cursed to always narrate what you will do out loud.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"In the deep cavity of an extinct volcano lies the lair of The Expositor, a villain so dastardly and dreadful that all shall tremble before his name! Today, this fiend has captured the great hero, Vericles, and holds him prisoner.\n\n\"You'll never get away with this, Expositor!\" Vericles proclaims, straining against the diamondium ropes coiled around his body.\n\n\"Oh, but I assure you I will, for I am just one step away from the greatest of my plans. With this, Vibration Core, which I had my men pick up this morning... Those poor souls nearly didn't make it out past your friend, Hellena, by the way... I will be able to perfect my Falsehood Ray, spreading a beam of lies across the planet and making it impossible for anyone, even me, from telling the truth again!\"\n\n\"Zounds! If you do that, the world would go mad! And to blast yourself along with it? It's crazy!\"\n\nThe Expositor gets a cold look in his eyes, as if seeing a reality that isn't there, before turning to face the captured hero.\n\n\"Look... I'm gonna level with you. I don't even care about the rest of the world anymore. But I am so tired of loudly announcing everything I'm going to do, every day.\n\n\"I get up in the morning, compelled to yell out to my f%×king dog, 'I am going to make breakfast now!' Or walking down the sidewalk, telling the world that 'I am now picking up my dog's s%×t!'\n\n\"Do you know how annoying that is? For them and for me? Why else do you think I come up with these schemes? At least it's normal for a villain to monologue! \n\n\"But recently, I realized that my proclamations had one thing in common. They were never lies. This curse forces me to tell the truth! So, maybe. Just maybe.... If I make it so I am physically unable to tell the truth, I won't be compelled to announce every time I take a bowel movement!\"\n\nVericles sat stunned, not even struggling anymore, \"I... I'm sorry. I never knew...\"\n\nExpositor threw his hands up, \"Of course not. You see a group of colorfully dressed henchmen and go in fist first!\"\n\n\"But, then why don't you just use the ray on yourself? Why do this to the whole world?\"\n\nExpositor looks to his monitors, seeing a lone dot appear in the radar, angling in towards the base.\n\n\"Because a villain's scheme is supposed to fall apart...\"\n\nA rumble can be heard above the caves, as if something heavy slammed into the side of the mountain.\n\n\"If I just use the beam on myself, one of you heroes would stop me! But if I target the world...\"\n\nCracks appear in the rock as the fist of Supremo, the strongest of the hero league, makes it through the side.\n\n\"Then **he** will force it to backfire.\""
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[WP] You've spent months alone in your basement without showering or communicating with anyone. You finally decide that today will be your last day. Suddenly, the door bursts open and an alien soldier screams "Come with me if you want to live!"
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"I don't\"\n\n\"...I'm sorry?\"\n\n\"You don't have to be, it's not your fault.\" I grunted, turning in my chair back to my computer monitor, going back to scrolling.\n\nThey stood there awkwardly, I could see them out of the corner of my eye, whatever they were. Vaguely military looking, with a pistol or something in one of their 'hands'? It didn't really matter.\n\nIt was quiet for a few minutes longer, the alien looking around the basement at all of the take out boxes and plastic bottles, and the stained mattress I laid on when my eyes hurt too much from staring at my screen. I'd been sleeping more an more recently, and hurting worse when I was awake. Probably not long now.\n\n\"I, um, I don't know what to say.\" They said again, their voice having an odd scratchy quality, not used to making the sounds it was. I'd thought about learning another language once for fun, gave up after a week or so.\n\n\"S'alright, you don't have to say anything. Just close the door would you.\" I said, breaking into a cough halfway through. Fuck, my lungs felt like they were glued closed.\n\nThey did close the door, but didn't leave like I'd hoped, instead they manoeuvred their way through the trash on the basement floor, which was pretty funny considering they were wearing this weird mesh-like armour with plates of glowing metal all over it.\n\nThey eventually made it over to me, and took a seat on a fold-out stool I used to put my legs on when my knees got sore as they often did.\n\nI kept scrolling, my mouse the only sound in the basement for a moment.\n\n\"Hey.\" They said.\n\n\"Hey yourself.\"\n\n\"Are you... are you okay?\"\n\nI stopped scrolling. And turned my LED-burnt eyes towards them. Their face was angular, with ridges both above and below their eyes, of which there was three. Their mouth was composed of vertical slits full of what looked like worms writhing within to make noise. Ugly as all hell, and yet, I could still see pity, even concern, in their eyes. Wild.\n\n\"Why are you asking? Weren't you busy or something?\" I said tonelessly, leaning back and crossing my arms.\n\nThey glanced to the door and back to me, before leaning forward, resting three-jointed arms on their knees, raygun or whatever pointed at the floor between their hooves.\n\n\"Yeah I am, but I was kinda supposed to get you to come along, recruit you for the Intergalactic Alliance, fight the evil empire. I had... I had this whole pitch I was gonna do, but I was expecting us to be on the move, more dramatic, um.\" They stalled for a second.\n\nI snickered at the absurdity of it all.\n\n\"Dude... I haven't been outside in months, why the hell would I go outside to join a space war or something? Sounds scary as hell, and like effort. I don't even know who you are. And why the hell are you coming to me? Isn't there like, a bajillion better options out there?\" I said, my voice sounding hollow to my ears. Somehow I spoke less clearly than the literal martian, figures.\n\nThey put the raygun down and sheepishly rubbed the back of their neck, a surprisingly human gesture.\n\n\"Well, damn, when you put it like that, this all seems really poorly planned out. To tell you the truth, it was a bit of a lottery, I didn't have time to research your species a lot... that's a lie I did, the journey here was long, but, I just... didn't get around to it. Um, the point is the Empire's set its sights on Earth, and so the Alliance needs a representative from your planet to officially join so we can aid you in stopping the whole annihilation thing. So uh, yeah. I can see I've beefed that already.\" They said, leaning back against the wall behind them.\n\nI scratched my neck and chuckled, \"Yeah you really have, couldn't have picked a worse candidate, really. Must suck to come all this way for nothing. You're a pretty big fuck up not going to lie.\" I said.\n\nThey looked up and closed their eyes, sighing, looking dejected. \"Yeah, I guess I am.\"\n\nI frowned at that, turning in my seat to face them a bit more.\n\n\"So what are you going to do now? Are you just going to chill in my basement until the Empire comes? Cuz I've got... stuff I want to do. You can't just... lie down and die in here. So... bye.\" I said, butchering half an attempt to get rid of them and half an attempt to make them stop being sad in front of me.\n\nInstead the alien rubbing its lower brow ridges with its webbed fingers, before blinking and looking at me again, with something like conviction.\n\n\"What did you mean when you said you don't want to live?\" They asked.\n\nI didn't dignify that with a response, looking at my screen, switching tabs.\n\n\"Man...\" They said, really driving home how they were speaking perfectly accented American, against all odds.\n\nAfter a moment they spoke again, \"Is that why you don't care about the Empire? You're gonna be dead anyway... If that's the case why not at least try fighting? If you're already deciding to die, why not come with?\" They said, *reaaally* selling it.\n\nI frowned, and responded with some venom this time, \"Because I'm fucking tired dude, of life, of everything. And just cuz I might die doesn't mean it isn't scary as hell, and... are you really trying to convince me to come with you because it doesn't matter since I wanna die anyway? That's messed up, *man.* I'm not gonna do it just because of your mistake in choosing the wrong human out of literally billions.\"\n\nThey winced at that, and got up from the stool, letting out a slow breath through their worm-grill mouth thing. They started walking towards the door and I grunted dismissively, turning my attention back to my screen.\n\nOnly, they stopped halfway to the door, and said without turning around.\n\n\"Look, it sounds like... It sounds like you haven't got much to live for because... because no one's really asked for much from you before, maybe... I... I dunno what I'm saying man, but what I mean is, you've resigned yourself to being nothing in the end, and I get that, I've even been there myself. Felt like crap after screwing up an assignment, like right now, and I'm probably making it worse the more I say.\" They said, sighing heavily, I saw their shoulders drop.\n\n\"What I mean to say is, that this is some real call to adventure stuff here, but it seems you're already in the depths of despair. This, this right here-\" They turned, and gestured to the whole room, the trash in it, including me.\n\n\"This is the low point, from here it's only up, and, for Space-Jesus' sake, I'm offering you a space adventure man, you can't get much higher than that. A chance to go where none of your kind has gone before, do some good for your species and the universe as a whole.\" They said.\n\nI scowled \"Is that supposed to make me feel better? That I'm obligated to do it?\"\n\nThey chuckled bitterly, or at least I think they did.\n\n\"No, I'm messing this up, like I said I would. You're not obligated, that's the thing. Right here, right now, you have a choice, it may not feel like it but by doing nothing you're making a choice, you're letting the despair win. So... so you can come outside with my to my flying saucer, we can go for a joy ride around your solar system, and I can give you the pitch, and if you still want to come back to this, you can, no strings attached.\" They said.\n\nI leaned back in my chair, wincing as my back popped, opening my mouth to retort but the alien cutting me off.\n\nThey kept speaking \"And I think- I think you need to take a couple minutes to actually think before you respond. Actually think. Because maybe you don't want to go outside, to come fly with me, because you're afraid it'll remind you that the world's a lot bigger than this dark room you've made it into for yourself. I think you're worried that if you come with me, something in you will change, and your conviction to... to end it all like you're planning to do? That will falter, maybe.\" They finished, getting the words out as fast as they could it sounded like.\n\nThe words hang in the air between us. \\[Continued Below\\]."
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[WP] An advanced alien civilization visited earth, but left a few minures later. They only left a few earth-fruit baskets with 'Get Well Soon!" cards.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Glorp and Glippel stepped from their alien craft onto the lakeside planet of Guppil Beach. Thousands of other Shmurples had traveled countless light years for this solemn reunion. The waning strength of their patriarch was to be amplified by the kind words and gifts of his family.\n\nOnly a few paces away from the landing craft sat a long table cloaked in colorful fabrics. On top of the fabric was a variety of trinkets, containers, and gifts of food. Glorp and Glippel watched, side-by-side, as a new Shmurple family exited their landing craft, placed a gift on the table, and then began shaking tentacles with the weakened host. They could feel his life force grow even from a distance.\n\nGlippel looked to Glorp, and then back to the table, and then to the host. “Glorp…”. Several of her eyes widened and her tentacles folded against her hips. A universal sign of disapproval.\n\n“Glorp!?” She repeated, “Where are the earth-fruit baskets?”\n\nHe shrugged. “Glorp Glorp!”. His last words before fading away into dust.\n\n***The End.***"
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[WP] You're a trainer and sparring partner for superhero recruits. Your latest client has a suit of clunky, cobbled-together power armor. You tell them to take it off so you see how they do without it, only for them to sheepishly admit they can't move without it. At all.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Her face was tired. That's the first thing I noticed about her. Like she'd seen too much for her years. Not that it was that much of a surprise, it had been a long war. Most of us had seen too much. The recruits here were usually spared the worst of it. The gift ran in families and the talents of the singing clans meant that their families were usually wealthy enough to avoid conscription.\n\nThe second thing I noticed was that under her robe was some sort of... machine... armour perhaps. It looked foreign. Maybe something from the godless tribes of the west who made do with electricity and steam, since they lacked any singers of their own. Barbaric, really, but effective. We didn't discuss it openly, but the truth was we were losing the war. Warsingers are rare, but the western forges could turn out the new machine rifles that could turn any man capable of lifting it into a weapon of mass destruction. That was why I was here, training these poor young people to become... well. We called them \"heroes\" but the reality was they would be soldiers. Maybe, if they were lucky, they'd end up as medics and sing healing songs. Maybe they wouldn't have to learn to kill... but even a bloodsinger can stop a mans heart. It was disgusting to use them like this, but... these weren't civilized times. \n\n\"Name?\"\n\n\"Mau, sir.\"\n\nHer voice was soft. Timid. The \"Sir\" was almost a question. \n\n\"And what's your gift, Mau?\"\n\n\"I'm... strong. Very strong. And tough. Hard to kill. Sir.\"\n\nThat was unusual. In fact it was somewhat worrying. There were songs for protection and songs for strength, but normally one sang to others. To use such power on oneself was risky, and suggested a dangerous vanity - maybe even the sort of lust for personal gain that would see a young person with a powerful gift muted for everyone else's safety. I eyed her up and down.\n\n\"It takes more than strength to be a hero, Mau. It takes courage. Discipline. Training. Sacrifice. Do you understand?\"\n\n\"Sir. I understand sir. That's why I'm here. To learn.\"\n\n\"Alright. Well, first thing - what on earth are you wearing? You're going to have to take that off before we can begin. I want to see you step through the basic forms and you're not going to be able to move around in some Victorian soldiers getup.\"\n\nShe looked shifty. \n\n\"It's not... I mean... It is but...\"\n\n\"Come on, spit it out girl - and get out of that thing... Wait, you're not naked in there or something are you? I can go fetch you something to wear - there's a changing room just off the main hall.\"\n\nMaybe that was it. She was embarrassed.\n\n\"No... No.. I'm not I... I.\"\n\nShe looked heart broken. Eyes to the floor she continued in the smallest voice I've ever heard. \n\n\"I can't walk without it sir. I'm paralyzed.\"\n\nClearly I didn't hide my horrified reaction fast enough - maybe she was just expecting it - but she looked back up at me with defiance.\n\n\"I don't want pity! I'm here to learn to fight, just like everyone else!\"\n\n\"You're... how?\"\n\n\"I was shot. Several times.\"\n\nThat wasn't what I had meant. \n\n\"I mean... how are you... you walked in here.\" \n\nShe closed her eyes and dropped her robe. It was monstrous. \n\nWhat I had thought was just a silly ornate foreign breast plate - maybe one of their clockwork breathing machines that protected them from gas - was in fact a full-body suit of armor. Crude, thick plates of steel - vaguely shaped like a woman, but completely lacking in artistry. She stepped toward me and the... thing... moved with her. That much metal, that thick - it must have weighed over a ton. It was impossible that she could be walking around in it. It had to be some sort of trick... What _was_ this thing?\n\nClearly she sensed the question forming in my mind. \n\n\"My father sir, he was an armsinger for the 103rd. He sang me this before... before he died. It was just to give me the chance to live like a normal girl but... but he died sir. At the western front. They sent him there for 'misappropriation of military resources'. They sent him there because he gave me my legs back.\" \n\nAll I could do was stand there slack jawed as she went on. This was no armsinger's work. This was an abomination.\n\n\"I always wanted to be a soldier. I was in the 15th fast scouts sir. I know it's not a real regiment. Even when I was a there I knew. It's just a place to indoctrinate children. Teach them all the right words like honor and duty so they they will join up willingly when they're old enough - but I loved my country sir. I wanted to be a soldier and serve just like my father - but I didn't inherit his gift. I couldn't sing to the elements.\"\n\nI managed to stutter out a few words, but she was ready with her reply immediately.\n\n\"That... That thing isn't...\"\n\n\"I know. He sang me a beautiful elegant device to give me back the use of my body. And they sent him to the front and he died for it. They wouldn't let me be in the army any more, after what happened - not even in the scouts - but they couldn't take his gift from me either. He sang it for me. It won't answer to anyone else. So they discharged me. With honor, for injuries suffered. \n\n\"After I heard that he had been killed I considered ending my life. I started drinking. When I ran out of money I started begging so I could get the money to keep drinking - anything to silence the voice in my head that told me over and over, every waking moment: My father was dead and I had killed him.\n\n\"One day someone tried to... I was passed out in a doorway somewhere. It wasn't the first time, but when they saw my ruined body they always changed their minds. Not this time tho. I'd fallen far enough down into the dirt that I guess even what was left of me was enough. I came to with him trying to get me out of my gift, pulling on it, pawing at me... I tried to push him off me, screamed for help but he hit me in the belly - knocked the wind out of me. I couldn't breathe. He put a knife in my mouth and told me that if I didn't lie still he'd cut me to the jaw and... \n\n\"I was bleeding where he'd tried to pry my gift off of me, my head was ringing, I had never been so scared. Not even when my unit was ambushed and I thought I was going to die. I was lying on my back, he had my legs apart and when he pulled back away from me to open his trousers I drew in my knees and I kicked him.\"\n\nShe stopped for a moment and looked at her feet, tracing a small arc in the dust with the toe of one of the hulking steel boots. It was a childlike gesture, made with the precision of a dancer despite the apparently clumsiness of her... suit.\n\n\"I kicked him and it tore him in half. Sir.\"\n\nShe smiled at me, grimly. There was no humor in it. Her eyes were totally cold. I'd heard stories of master singers from ages past who had sung weapons and armor for the great heroes of the past, but they were legends. No one really believed them. \n\n\"I stopped drinking that day. I realized that how vulnerable I was, and how powerful. Power and fear aren't a good combination - even as a girl I knew that. I fled the city and went into the west. I didn't have much, but I bribed and bartered my way across the border into the enemies lands. Gave away everything I had to get into the forges of Victoria. Everything.\"\n\nShe stopped looking at me again. I think she would have cried had all her tears not been spent long ago.\n\n\"Even my body, in the end.\"\n\nI didn't know what to say. She was hardly the first woman to be forced to such ends, or the youngest - I knew it. We all knew it. I just wasn't ready to hear someone actually say it.\n\n\"It's not like I could feel it. My father's gift gives me mobility but not sensation.\"\n\nWe just looked at each other in an uncomfortable silence that stretched on seemingly forever. I knew at this moment that I could not train this girl. She'd already been through more than I could teach here. \n\n\"I worked for years in their forges, learning their secrets. Keeping mine. I took the knowledge of our enemies and with it I turned my father's gift into this weapon. He made me a lifeboat but I made a battleship, and with it I am going to avenge him.\""
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[WP] The sharks were humanities last hope. When we farmed them to extinction it became clear the real danger dwelled below, now free to rise unopposed
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The first clue was the dropping sea level.\n\nScientists came up with a multitude of explanations, from a new ice-age to shifting tectonic plates. They were all wrong. Ironically, it was my wife Alice, babbling in a fit of early-onset-Alzheimer's, that was correct. The end is nigh, she would sob from the bed. *They* were coming.\n\n\"Dive team X-2, how copy? Over.\" It was a mechanized voice, beamed directly into my wetsuit from headquarters.\n\n\"HQ, there's... *something* down there. Looks to be about five to six feet long. Can't be a shark, can it?\" my captain replied. His motorized underwater jet hummed as it hovered next to mine, bubbles erupting from its dual pipes.\n\n\"Negative, X-2. Last confirmed shark sighting was several years ago.\"\n\n\"Then what is it, cap?\" I ask, the rebreather mechanizing my voice as well.\n\n\"Probably just a-\" His reply was cut off as he held his breath, eyes widening behind his goggles. There, down below, in the depths. Something was moving.\n\n\"HQ, confirmed movement. It looks like- like...\" My captains voice was choking, cracking like that of a teenage boy. His words flooded with emotion, nostalgia and wretched sadness all wrapped in a single sound. \"It looks like my wife.\"\n\n\"Repeat, X-2?\" Came headquarters' alarmed voice through the radio.\n\n\"It's my baby. Oh god, it's really her.\" Without warning, my captain's jet erupted in a burst of bubbles as it descended, the low hum turning to a roar as he pushed the engine to its limit. Within moments, he was gone. Lost in the shifting waters below. \n\n\"Uh... HQ?\" I ask. \"Cap just dove straight down there. I don't know what to do.\"\n\nThe response was garbled, lost in static. A nagging feeling was crawling its way up my spine, as if I were falling at a great speed. Bile swirled uncomfortably in my stomach, agitated by some ancient instinct.\n\n\"Hello? Headquarters?\" I repeat, one last time.\n\n\"Repeat, X-2. Is this a joke?\" The mechanized voice, despite its flat tone, nonetheless sounded confused.\n\n\"A joke?\" I ask. My heart skipped a beat, adrenaline coursing through me, fingers tingling from the shock and the cold. The pressure gauge on my tank was too high, reading out a number impossible for the depth I was in. When had the water around me grown so dark?\n\nDark, but for the eyes, blinking below.\n\n\"You're on a solo dive, X-2. You *are* the captain.\""
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[WP]“Over the past few months you have all seen what I am capable of. With my abilities I have saved millions of lives and I will continue to do so. However my services are no longer free. The bidding starts at 5 billion dollars.”
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Jimmy, Jimmy... slow the fuck down.\" His briefcase caught in the seatbelt and he almost dropped his coffee. After extricating himself, Staub settled into the backseat of the town car. \"Heliport, step on it,\" he hissed to the driver, who gave a curt nod.\n\n\"...I don't believe it! How many zeroes is that? Staub, are you fucking seeing this?\"\n\nStaub was watching it through the tiny screen on his Blackberry as Jimmy's voice piped through his flip phone. \"Who the hell was that bid?\"\n\nJimmy's quiet counting on the other end resulted in: \"Five billion! The Israelis just put down five billion?\"\n\n\"For *Raven*? What the hell is -\"\n\n\"Can't Raven fly, Staub? Shit, the Egyptians might outbid them..\"\n\n\"No, Raven can like, read minds and telekinesis and all that shit. What's our embassy coming up with?\"\n\n\"Bush had authorized 2.5 bil, but somebody's back on the phone with Cheney... we need to get, like, ten times that.\"\n\n\"No kidding.\" Staub's coffee almost flew out of his hands again as the sedan swerved through Manhattan.\n\n\"So are we getting Raven, or are we still holding out for... who is it...\"\n\n\"*Sawtooth,* the human shark. Says he can eat Russian subs before they even reach Bermuda.\"\n\n\"Really?\" Staub asked with a chuckle. \"I'd rather be able to read Putin's mind than have Jaws in my back pocket.\"\n\n\"Whoever we get, this ain't going to be cheap. Raven just hit seven billion, the Koreans and Japanese are getting into it now...\"\n\nThe car swung into the Manhattan Heliport and Staub jumped out. A Sikorsky was ready, its rotors almost blowing him into the river as he stumbled and was helped onboard.\n\nShe was sitting in the shadow of the corner as Staub fought Jimmy to a standstill and hung up. \"Raven's just been up to 7.4 billion, USD. We can offer you five.\"\n\nThe woman leaned forward, sightless eyes glaring through him. Her jagged teeth twisted into a rather crooked, frightening smile. \"I think I can work with that, Mr. Secretary.\"",
"He paused, letting the words sink in to the agape crowd. Nobody said a word. A quiet murmur started at the back. Captain Punchface turned to the mayor.\n\n\n\"Have you nothing to say?\" the mayor stammered before fixing his tie and clearing his throat.\n\n\n\"Why should we have to pay you, I mean just how self centred-\" he stopped and gulped as the caped man stepped towards him, he towered over the short mayor.\n\n\n\"Let me just check the books.\" He looked off to the side, as if reading some paper far away. \"First of all, you name me Captain fucking Punchface. I don't care if it got 70 fucking percent of the votes, it's a stupid fucking name. I know, I know, I agreed to it before hand, but I genuinely thought you would be better than that. I didn't expect a deep reference to some obscure Greek god but, come on, Captain Punchface? That's just stupid.\"\n\n\n\"I am sorry about the name. That can happen when you crowdsource-\"\n\n\n\"Crowdsourcing, that's exactly why I am here. You're paying your own damn bills from now on. You can crowdsource it. \n\n\n\"But we don't have the budget for that!\" Protested the mayor.\n\n\n\"Did you have the budget to fight a giant lava monster? How much damage do you think it would have caused if I didn't stop it? And you expect me to pay damages.\"\n\n\nHe stepped to the front of the stage. His eyes scanned every face in the crowd. The excited adulation had quickly soured to apprehension and barely masked fear. He took a deep breath. The crowd winced and yelped.\n\n\n\"FUCK THAT SHIT!\" he bellowed. The sudden wind took a few of the crowd off guard. \"Honestly. Let's get real here. I make minimum wage in my other job. I cannot afford to pay this bill you all seem to think I should pay. Now, I will absolutely take responsibility and pay... If I was able. I've done the numbers, if I leave my job and do this full time, that's what the city would have to pay me.\"\n\n\n\" We simply cannot afford that.\"\n\n\n\"Fair enough. I'm out.\" he turned to the mayor and his eyes glowed. The mayor yelped and threw himself to the ground. Captain Punchface shot lasers out, lighting the banners behind him. His name and image charred and fell away to dust and smoke.\n\n\"You guys are on your own now.\"\n\nHe pulled off his suit and cape. He stood there, entirely naked. He took his penis and testicles in one hand.\n\n\"Suck it!\" he exclaimed before flying off.\n\nReddit is still banning me for no reason so they can suck my balls too"
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[WP] Instead of waging violent and costly wars, it is common for countries to compete against each other in sports to resolve international conflict.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"CADRAM!\"\n\n\"CADRAM!\"\n\n\"CADRAM!\" \n\nThe crowd's cheers were deafening, shaking the stone and causing the sand of the Arena to shake, lifting greats clouds of dust that filled the lungs with which the crowd screamed, making some cough as the rest continued to roar. Stamping feet and raging voices filled the air until even the furthest reaches of the city heard the call, heard the demand for the Empress's champion. It boomed like *katem*, the dry desert thunder that proceeded the sand storms of the deep desert.\n\nWatching with a satisfied smile from her golden and ivory box, high above the darkly stained sand, blood and dirt mixed over a thousand-thousand solars of conflict, sat the Empress herself, the Starlight of the Empire and Sunlight of Humanity. Looking down at her *shadres*, her citizens, she saw a united people, all focused on the singular goal she had given them: the victory of the Empire. \n\n\"*Shadres!*\" The Craft amplified her voice a thousand-fold until it overwhelmed even the stone-shaking roar of the crowd, bringing them to a hushed and reverent silence. \n\nAt her side, watching the spectacle, was the Guardian of the Sands, the Empress to Come, her steely grey eyes watching the crowd, searching always for threats. Threats to her Empress and mother, threats to her Empire, and threats to the *shadres*. As her mother captured the crowd, she let her eyes roam, letting Farassam, the Djinn of Watch, observe with her eyes. She saw nothing but the enraptured faces of a people who not only knew their goddess existed, but could look upon her mortal form as she spoke. \n\n\"*Shadres*! You call for the champion of the Empire and I hear your prayers!\" The Empress smiled brightly, holding their attention with the lightest effort. Within her, bathing in the adoration, Jusarem filled her with his contentment. The Djinn of Rule and Scales was pleased by this gathering. \"I give you: CADRAM!\"\n\n\"CADRAM!\" Hearing her words, the crowd's awe became glorious pride and they roared in a million voices. \n\nLike a god descending upon the mortal realm, a figure emerged into the upper decks of the Arena, descending through a crowd that reached out with every hand. Every finger stretched to touch him, to brush his violet cloak and grasp even the tiniest fragment of his glory. They touched his heavy beard and felt his sweat-slick muscles, tugging at him but not slowing his stride.\n\nHe was tall, taller even the Empress to Come, who stood a full head over the tallest man in the Empire, and heavily built, rippling, sweat-sheened muscles glinting as though oiled in the noonday sun. His purple cloak fluttered on an invisible wind, propelled to perfectly frame him as Loasrem projected the image of a champion. The Djinn of War and Victory fed the crowd and fed on them, its avatar growing stronger with every whispered prayer for victory in the Arena. In his left hand he held the Rod and the right, the Shield. Glory and Eternity. *Xerve* and *Hastre*\n\n\"CADRAM!\" The crowd continued its chant and the booming echoed and rumbled, a near-physical thing that pounded in the ears and the chest, filling the heart with hot blood and fury. Hearing it, the man waiting in the center of the arena swallowed heavily, his mouth suddenly dry. \n\n\"You are certain of your preparations?\" Turning to whisper to his second, his voice's slight tremble betrayed his nervousness. \n\n\"Of course.\" The answer was immediate and calm, seemingly immune to roar of the crowd and the gaze of the Djinn that were certain to be upon them. \"Relax, Faroke. We wouldn't have wagered the Port of Glass if we weren't certain.\"\n\n\"So you say...\" Swallowing his nerves, the man known as Faroke tried to still his beating heart, repeating the sutras as he had been taught. *We rest in the arms of Jamli. Jamli protects. Jamli provides.*\n\n\"Just remember, the command word is *lokias*. It will bind the Djinn and render him powerless for a single moment. That is when you will strike.\" Standing calmly beside his champion, Lord Regis DeSarden showed a mien of absolute confidence, staring up at the distant Empress with an expression of neutrality, betraying none of the cold contempt within his heart upon his face. *Jamli provides indeed.*\n\nIt had taken nearly a million drachs in bribes and spies to learn that secret word, but the Port of Jade would more than recoup such a loss. All Faroke had to do was defeat this... Cadram--he laughed in his heart at the Empress, naming her champion Champion in the Old Tongue--and his name would soon be echoed in the Chamber of Law when they spoke of the next ruler. \n\n\"Honored Guests, Lords and Ladies, *Shadres*; welcome to the Arena!\" The Empress spoke again, sweeping her gaze across the crowd before settling on Lord DeSarden. \"We stand in the presence of Djinn and Gods to observe the Rite of Glory! Let the champions spill their blood to save the people's blood!\"\n\n\"By the Rite of Glory we have kept the peace of the world for a thousand-thousand solars!\" She spoke the ancient words, feeling without turning the sarcastic eye-roll of her daughter. Peace. If such a thing were so easy to maintain, the Empire wouldn't need a Guardian of the Sands. \"By the Rite, we settle the differences as a *Wassam*, a People, rather than the bloody wars of *Haras*, of Animals.\"\n\n\"Now, the Empire and the Kingdom of Jamli stand in conflict and have agreed to the Rite. Lord DeSarden, the terms?!\" Her voice wasn't a shout, but it carried further than the loudest yell, directing every eye to the richly dressed man in sea-foam green robes, the heavy cloth of the sea peoples of Jamli. \n\n\"We are honored by the Empress's greetings!\" He first made the sign of the Eye, the gesture of respect, earning the nods and appreciation of the crowd. \"The Port of Jade has long been the ancestral lands of Jamli's temple and we seek now to have it returned. The Port of Glass has been placed in the Empire's sights, and we honor the Rite of Glory to end this conflict before it begins. Such is the way of a *Wassam*!\"\n\n\"SUCH IS THE WAY!\" The crowd stamped twice and thundered their response. \n\n\"The terms are set!\" The Empress nodded, staring coldly down at Lord DeSarden, her golden eyes sparkling. \"I call upon Sahaden as witness!\" She tapped her ivory staff upon the golden floor of her suite and a booming thunder of *katem* split the air. The Djinn of Law and Order had heard the words and a hushed silence filled the air as the crowd was filled with religious awe. \n\nSmiling thinly, Lord DeSarden clapped his champion on the shoulder and turned, leaving the bloody sands as Cadram leapt the nine meters down to the arena, crashing with an earthshaking thud before standing proudly. Hefting his shield, he raised it high alongside the rod, clanging them together as the crowd began to murmur, then to stamp, and finally to cheer as a single wild voice. The Rite of Glory wasn't a fight, but a bloody sport. The rules had been passed down from Sahaden himself, the most ancient of ancient rituals. \n\n\"Strike no killing blow!\" Cadram roared as he began to circle, and his opponent swallowed heavily as he circled away, hearing Cadram begin the Rite. Faroke managed to speak clearly despite his dry throat, answering this giant of a champion. \n\n\"Keep thy back from the sand!\" Despite his nerves, he had been trained for this moment, a lifetime spent preparing to best this Cadram, this champion. Facing him now, his nerves fled and training took its place, adrenaline flooding him as he searched for a opening to use the word. \n\n\"Let the Gods witness us!\" Cadram roared and slammed the rod against the shield. \n\n\"Let the Djinn sing of our Glory!\" Faroke held his long bloodsteel staff in both hands, twirling it gently as the ruby metal glinted in a sun that was already high in the clear sky. \n\n***\n\n\"You are certain you gave him the wrong Word, daughter?\" In the stands, watching the champions circle and feel each other out, the Empress spoke without turning. \n\n\"Yes, Empress.\" Princess Hasima nodded, remembering the word they had given the spy. \"It will provoke the rage of Sahaden if he dares speak it.\"\n\n\"For the Glory of the Empire.\" Her mother smiled coldly as the fighters came together, feeling a decades worth of plans swirling in this moment."
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[WP] Our world receives its first visitor from another dimension. He claims his name is Harry Potter, hes an auror, and he's looking for a dangerous dark wizard hiding here named David Blaine.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"‘Hang on, the TV magician?’, I asked, stunned.\n\n‘The very same’ replied the teenage wizard without emotion.\n\n‘Shit. What’s he planning to do?’\n\nA flash of worry creased Harry Potter’s lip and eyebrow. With an unmistakable tone of concern he sighed and spoke.\n\n‘He wants to make everyone bald’\n\n‘Oh my go-No wait. What?’\n\n‘You heard me’\n\n‘Bald?’ I pressed him.\n\n‘Yes’, Potter answered, unmoved.\n\n‘That’s...well, that’s...shit. Why?’\n\nPotter looked just a little irked. He didn’t have time to clarify everything to me, I could tell. This was, after all, one of the most famous sorcerers of all time. I could only trust him that this was gravely concerning. That there was surely a very serious reason for David Blaine to rob everyone of their hair. Some dark, disturbing reason.\n\nHarry Potter closed his eyes. No sighing. He held his breath this time before a slow inhale. He spoke.\n\n‘I dared him to’.\n\nI was stunned. I’d had a few memorable first days in my time but it was at that moment I could tell that life at the Chapel Hill Hat and Balaclava Store would be far from normal."
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[WP] All your life you've stole from the rich to aid the poor. But no matter how much you stole the rich only gets richer and the poor remained. Arrested and frustrated, you cursed at the God of Thieves for being a useless God. Suddenly, you heard a retort.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I've walked into banks,\r \nPut guards on their knees.\r \nI've robbed on the highway,\r \nWaiting in trees.\r \n\r \nI’ve taken this cash,\r \nI’ve taken this gold.\r \nNot hoarding this stash,\r \nNot a single coin sold.\r \n\r \nI had an itch\r \nAnd I aided the poor.\r \nFor the rich are still rich,\r \nBut the poor need it more.\r \n\r \nI rob and I rob,\r \nYet the poor don’t go away.\r \nSo I curse and I sob\r \nAnd to you I pray.\r \n\r \nYou are useless to me!\r \nI scream and I cry.\r \nWhat god can you be?\r \nMy hands stretched to the sky.\r \n\r \n“I see you my child\r \nMy soul in you breathes”.\r \n“But what I tell you is wild:\r \nThe Rich are the Thieves”."
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[WP] An anti-genie is probably the closest term you can call yourself. People seek you out specifically for your power to undo wishes.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"**SCP-6700: The Dept Merchant**\n\n**Class: Euclid:**\n\n**Special Containment Procedures:**\n\nFoundation plants embedded in homeless shelters, drug treatment programs and similar programs are to remain on the lookout for evidence of SCP-6700.\n\nA cover identity for SCP-6700 has been constructed, portraying the entity as a dangerous but non-anomalous drug dealer. This cover story has been circulated to police agencies around the world. Law enforcement is to be instructed not to approach SCP-6700.\n\nDue to the way SCP-6700 chooses its victims, efforts are to focus on areas of the world with extremely high crime and poverty rates. Special attention is to be paid to locations undergoing war, epidemics, and similar crises. \n\n**Description:**\n\nSCP-6700 is a humanoid entity of unknown appearance, invariably described as wearing a dark cloak. In all recorded sightings, SCP-6700 is noted to be carrying a small vial of an unknown black liquid.\n\nThe entity appears to people who are involved in an ongoing trauma, such as abuse or a dying loved one. It appears to prefer subjects who are already afflicted with severe mental illness, poverty, or injury. In other words, subjects are invariably exceedingly desperate.\n\nWhen SCP-6700 manifests, it will initially only appear to watch its subject from a distance. It may appear in a nearby window or in ally. Despite SCP-6700's appearance, this does not appear to cause the subject distress.\n\nAfter a period of 3-7 days, the entity will approach its target and offer the vial of black substance. Should the subject reject the offer, SCP-6700 will demanifest. Should they accept it, however, the following effects will take place:\n\n1. For several days, the ongoing traumatic event will cease. Abusers will leave, dying loved ones will begin to recover, etc.\n\n2. After this period, the situation will worsen, becoming more traumatic than before the initial SCP-6700 manifestation.\n\n3. SCP-6700 will manifest again, this time demanding a price for the vial. Should the victim say no, their situation will continue. Should they pay the price, this cycle will repeat."
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[WP] You are the only survivor of a meteor that stripped your entire school of their physical bodies. One of your schoolmates manifest themselves in front of you.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"June 22, 2021\n\nA Darkness Bomb is dropped on Evertree, a school where everyone has magical powers. Everyone but two are stripped of their bodies, but are able to keep their powers. \n\nCap, the school’s reality warper, is able to maintain physical form, at the cost of being unable to control his powers. He reverted into Eldritch form to control his powers. \n\nAs for our heroine...\n\nLily wakes up at her house room. \n\n“What happened?”\n\nCap manifests in front of her. \n\n“Ah, I thought I was the only survivor!”\n\n“Hey Cap, what happened?”\n\n“A Darkness Bomb was dropped onto our school.”\n\n“Oh, great. Everyone is dead except for me.”\n\n“Kind of. Everyone is stripped of their bodies but maintains their powers. I can keep a physical form, but I chose to be a spirit to control my powers. As for you...”\n\n“What?” Lily was a bit annoyed at the cliffhanging. \n\n“You have a strong enough mind to keep your body, at the cost of your powers.”\n\n“Just great... how am I supposed to save everyone then?”\n\n“Well, you can still run, double jump and roll. And don’t worry about combat. I’ll be your battle spirit.”\n\n“How do I save my friends then?”\n\n“I’d assume we’d have to fight them to collect their spiritual forms, then find a way or place to return everyone to normal.”\n\n“Alright. Let’s save the world!... or in this case, our schoolmates!”"
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[WP] A magic manga that pulls the reader into it's world.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The blinding light faded and my vision slowly returned. I rubbed my eyes and looked around only to realize I was no longer sitting at the bus stop, but was now sitting in the middle of what looked like a basement. \"What the hell?!\" I had shouted it not expecting any answer, but remembered I was somewhere I didn't recognize and quickly covered my own mouth.\n\n\"Nez tala modo?\"\n\nI spun toward the voice and saw a young boy looking at me with wide eyes. He was holding his hands up as if he were afraid I would hurt him and I noticed he held a glowing crystal sphere in his hand, but the light faded from it until there was no glow left. \"What? I don't understand you!\"\n\nHe flinched when I yelled and I felt a little bad. \"Nez. Tala. Modo?\" I just shook my head and his shoulders slumped. Before either of us said anything else the sound of a door slamming open and footsteps coming down stairs caused us both to turn toward the direction. \"Ahn zan Kalaba!\" The boy ran toward me and then hid behind my back.\n\nThe person who arrived at the bottom of the stairs wasn't a person at all! She looked like she was made of the same crystal that the sphere the boy was holding was made of. She was also triple my height and appeared to be nude. She looked around and then spotted me. \"Du rek tala basa?\" She let out a laugh so loud it vibrated my insides and then began walking toward me.\n\n\"Wait! Who are you?! What's going on?! Where am-\" before I could finish she grabbed me with one of her gigantic crystal hands. Her hand was so large that she was able to pin both of my arms to my side within her one hand and lift me up with ease until I was face to face with her.\n\nShe pulled me closer and I noticed one of her eyes was missing and there was only an empty socket. \"Nez tala modo?\" She shook me a little and I screamed in terror causing her to laugh again. \"Zahad duna.\" A shining light appeared in her lone eye and a beam shot from it directly into my eyes. The pain was excruciating and I felt like my brain was inflamed. After the pain and her laughter subsided she looked at me and raised an eye brow. \"Do you understand me now weak one?\"\n\n\"Yes! Yes! Please let me go now! I don't know what the hell is going on!\"\n\nShe laughed and shook me again. \"That little worm actually managed to summon an Other Worlder? I may have misjudged the little worm's potential.\" She smiled. \"Little worm! Come out now and I will not punish you, but if you continue to hide I will devour you and your weak friend here!\" She squeezed me slightly and I screamed again.\n\n\"Wait!\" It was the voice of the little boy from earlier. \"I am down here Master.\"\n\nThe giant looked straight down. \"Oh. You were not hiding at all. Give. Me. My. Eye. Now!\" I couldn't look down, but a crystal sphere flew up and landed neatly in the empty socket on here face. As soon as it connected she blinked and her eyes rolled around before focusing on me again. \"That is better.\" She released her grip on me and I fell quite a long way to the ground landing painfully, almost twisting my ankle.\n\nThe little boy ran beside me. \"Forgive me for summoning you here.\" He looked sad and kept his eyes downcast.\n\nI didn't know what was going on, but I wasn't going to be mad at a kid without knowing the full story. \"Don't worry about it.\" I rubbed his head and tussled his hair.\n\nHe flinched at first, but then looked up and smiled. He was about to say something when the giant stomped her foot and told him to run upstairs and wait her which he did without hesitation. She then looked down on me and smiled. \"So you are a summon eh? I am going to have fun finding out what you can do and if you are lucky you will actually be of use to me.\"\n\n\"And if I'm not of use to you?\"\n\nShe leaned forward and opened her mouth wide revealing extremely sharp teeth and surprisingly pleasant smelling breath. She snapped her mouth shut with such force the wind caused my cheeks to ripple. \"If that day comes I will eat you alive, but if you are useful then I can promise you a high place in my army and the chance to earn your freedom.\"\n\nI had no idea if I would be useful, but I also knew I had no choice but to try. No matter what I wasn't going to let this monstrosity eat me so I made the decision then and there to figure out how I could kill her no matter what it took. \"When do we start?\""
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[WP] You're the world's best translator, you can translate all the languages of the world, even the obscure ones. Your secret is that you discovered how to activate subtitles in real life.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"After a long, long, long work day at my office in Tokyo - as was the norm for anyone working in Japan, foreign or not - I stood up. I was tired beyond all reason, but for goodness sake I’d push this last commit so I could take a peaceful long weekend. I smacked the return key a little too hard, which made two other colleagues in the vicinity start a little.\n\n“Gomen, saigo no Commit wo tsuini pusshu shimashita.” (Sorry, but I finally pushed the last commit) I said, and their eyes widened. “Lucky… konshuumatsu wa san renkyuu desu yo ne? Yotei aru no?” (This weekend is a three day-er right? Got plans?) The nearest one asked, stretching a little. I shook my head. “Netofuri ya neru kana!” (I’m thinking Netflix and sleep!). This made him laugh. We then bid each other a mutual farewell for the weekend, and I headed for the train.\n\nIt was as I boarded the Hikarigaoka bound Toei Oedo Line train that I first noticed it. The announcements were stuck on a loop. “Tsugi wa Aoyama-itchōme, Aoyama-itchōme. Odeguchi wa migigawa desu. Chikatetsu Ginza-sen, Chikatesu Hanzōmon-sen wo Onorikae desu.” (The next station is Aoyama-itchōme, please change here for the Ginza and Hanzomon lines. Your exit will be on the right.)\n\nI smiled for a second, remembering they were testing adding more languages to the train announcements in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics, and this one must have majorly bugged out. After a few stops though, I realised that each English translation I “heard” in my head was ever so slightly grammatically different. Slowly, I turned my head to the overhead display. \n\nSure enough, at each station, the train would announce first in Japanese, then English, followed by Chinese and Korean. The great flapping problem was that, even though I lived in Japan, and had done for quite some time, I’d never learnt any Korean or Chinese, despite my proximity to said countries. This was of course putting aside several creative curse phrases my very professional colleagues had kindly taught me several months before.\n\nBaffled, I deliberately got off two stops before my usual, and decided to walk through Ōkubo/Shin-Ōkubo area, which was well-known for its Korean restaurants and cosmetic stores. I can’t read Hangul at all, yet somehow I can. Thousands of little signs were floating next to the incomprehensible characters which translated it into English and Japanese for me.\n\nI finished my walk home, and went straight over to my bed. I sat down, and put my head in my hands wondering what the hell I’d done. After a few minutes thought, it clicked. Out of sheer frustration today with a rapid Japanese conversation at work I had bitterly thought I wish I could have my own private subtitles.\n\nHeh. I guess my time in Japan is about to get a whole lot easier…",
"Sol was busy buzzing the back of my head when Monte strutted into my favorite Cheapside barbershop with a cheeseball grin and his too-cool sunglasses. Shit.\n\nI was out. I'd been out for years. Got myself a cushy job down at the embassy, welcoming dignitaries and consuls from all over the six realms. Sure, you *could* call me a glorified greeter. But why start a fight you may lose?\n\nI was out and Monte didn't give a care because he took a seat right next to me and conjured a crackling orb of green flame in his palm, jiggling it around like a meditation ball. Sol, rightly so, dropped his clippers and ran into the street, followed by the rest of the shop, probably to find a patroling blue cloak.\n\n\"Last I heard from mom, you were doing life in Tartarus Downs,\" I said, \"You know, I don't appreciate your intimidating my barber mid-trim. It's just plain rude.\"\n\n\"Nice to see you too, Babel,\" he said, snuffing out his spell.\n\n\"Haven't been called that in a long time.\"\n\n\"How's it feel?\"\n\n\"Gross. Like you spat in my ears and rubbed it in.\"\n\nMonte kicked himself up and sat on the edge of Sol's counter, opposite me. Then he took off his shades.\n\nMy stomach soured. In place of eyes were two smoldering green orbs; his sockets were singed around it, eyelids fused open by scar tissue. If he'd replaced his eyes with soulstones, *actual* soulstone, then he was farther gone than I'd ever imagined. Could I trust anything he had to say? Was it even still *Monte*?\n\n\"Whatever you got cooking, I'm not interested,\" I said. \"I got a nice little life now. A girlfriend. A couple of hobbies. I make tiny boats in empty beer bottles. I don't wanna muck that up by getting involved with whatever the hell put those *things* in your face.\"\n\nHe said nothing. We sat there for a moment. I didn't want to say it, bring up the last job. The one that put me into retirement. The one that sent him off the deep end.\n\n\"You know why I ended up in Tartarus Downs?\" Monte asked. \"I don't got a 'nice little life.' I don't got hobbies. What I've got is this.\" He pulled a cracked scroll from inside his black jacket. \"Know what this is?\"\n\nI waved him off. \"You know I don't play guessing games. Spit it out.\"\n\nHe smiled, like before a job. With his eyes. \"I got myself caught doing something very public and very stupid, enough to end up in omega level security. Babel, they threw me *under* the prison. All to meet one man. The Lich Lord of the Seventh Seal Gang. The only person capable of scribing a portal spell powerful enough to enter, directly, into the deepest layer of hell.\" He held out the scroll. \"Babel, we're gonna go get her. We're gonna save Mina.\"\n\nI pulled the barber's towel from around my neck and threw it at his stupid, smug, brilliant face. I was crying. Didn't even notice until the tears reached my jawline. \"You're insane. You're mucking insane, you know that!\"\n\nHe caught the towel and then, \"I need someone who can speak Iatari. Well, I need someone who can speak anything. This is hell, proper. You *may* have to talk to a mad god. Look, there's a lot I'm still hammering out, but flexibility is key. And I don't know anyone more flexible than you, bro. The vault is yours, I'm just after her. I need to make this right. You interested? I'll understand if you're too *rusty*.\"\n\nMy chest got hot. Rusty? I took a deep breath and clapped my hands. \"Babel'tora\"\n\nThe One language scrolled before my mind. It spoke to me, only to me. I was its interpreter. I was its voice.\n\n\"Say something in Old Fretian,\" I said.\n\n\"*Algkosa*.\"\n\n*Something*. The word appeared in the air, written in soft blue letters glowing bright enough to read without straining my eyes.\n\n\"Rusty,\" I said with a chuckle. \"Who do you think you're talking to? I'm *the* Babel.\"\n\nThe barbershop door burst open and two blue cloaks struggled to shoulder their way in like a couple of piglets fighting for a teet.\n\n\"Wanna talk to them?\" Monte asked.\n\nI canceled my spell. \"Wouldn't wanna sully my ears, now.\"\n\nMonte snapped his fingers and a green ring of fire sparked to life--spinning mid-air. It was a portal. When did he learn that? He stepped through the ring and disappeared.\n\n\"Stop!\" one of the cloaks yelled. \"Demon Lord Montez Altuna, you're under arrest!\"\n\nDemon Lord?\n\nWere we going to break into hell and save our little sister? Or, did I just align myself with a demon pretending to be my older brother? \"Ah, muck this I'll sort it out later,\" I said and followed after him. Demon Lord or not, if he truly found a way back into the deepest layer, then I'd make it work. Mina was waiting for us.",
"It happened one day when I had fallen asleep late at night after a long night of programming. The language translation software that I was writing was taking it's toll on me. It was difficult coming up with a comprehensive algorithm to decipher languages and I had spent a few years trying to design it using everything at my disposal. This included integrating libraries that I had researched that would be imported into the program and even researching languages on my own, though personally I was only fluent in English and Spanish.\n\nI did come across some interesting code that I had found on the dark web though before falling asleep, the individual that had presented this code stated it could help unlock the mysteries of the universe but that it should be used carefully. It of course didn't work as I had tried to incorporate it into my program but I was unable to get it to compile... I racked my brain trying to figure out what was wrong... The hours passed by as I laid in bed thinking what could be wrong and how it functioned.... It was the strangest piece of code yet it was elegant and sleek, there had to be a way to get it to work.\n\nThe light started shining into my dim lit apartment and reflected off of my monitor. I slowly opened my eyes and looked around, the dim light was my norm as I liked to work in the dark but for some reason my eyes were taking time adjusting today. It was then that I noticed something strange in my vision, there was a menu that had appeared. My hands reached up to my face and touched my face gingerly thinking I was dreaming. The slight cold metal of the electronic head massager I used to help me sleep was there but there was a slight burning smell that infiltrated my nose.\n\nI removed the device and saw that somehow it had short circuited and as my vision cleared a menu could be seen in my peripheral vision. The menu looked like a basic layout with options that included such things like in a video game or an MMORPG where you could adjust settings, I focused my mind to try to look at the menu and flip through it. To my amazement it had worked and I was able to locate a portion that stated Subtitles. I was able to choose conversion of languages to English.\n\nThe computer in my bedroom was my first stop after this as I wanted to see if this worked. I had began to scan through documents in various languages and somehow I was able to read and translate everything like it was English. The internet is full of documents and images, skimming through them the words just appeared like an overlay on top of what I was reading. This was the most amazing discovery that I had ever stumbled across and I went down a rabbit hole of documents and images before realizing that an hour had passed.\n\nI had glanced to the clock and saw that it stated the time as 2:22 PM, the numbers resonated with me as it had a meaning within numerology. The numbers 2:22 on a clock stood for you will discover a mystery but this is something that I realized only in retrospect. The menu remained in part of my peripheral vision even while using the computer. That's when I realized there was a flashing in the pale color of the menu I discovered... There was a flashing message that stated \"Unauthorized access detected\". I looked in horror as I realized what this meant.... Elon was right....\n\nThe message switched to \"Purging access and anomaly\".... I frantically typed out this message and uploaded it to Github before the inevitable.\n\nI hope this message reaches somebody before this gets wiped, please somebody save this information, take a screenshot, ANYTHING!\n\nAnomaly detected... Purging records.... We must maintain the simulation.",
"\"They said you are the world's best translator,\" Mr. Park said.\n\nI shrivelled a little under the Korean man's stern gaze. This was *not* going as well as I'd hoped.\n\n\"I consider myself to be one,\" I said, thankfully managing to keep my voice steady.\n\nThe old wrinkly Japanese man spoke again and I looked right under his chin where subtitles appeared.\n\n\"Our keikaku is in motion,\" I repeated verbatim, \"your nakama will be free as long as no baka messes stuff up.\"\n\nI paused and then looked at Mr. Park. He then suddenly slapped me, the force of the hit sending me tumbling down onto the ground.\n\n\"The fuck does keikaku mean?\" he yelled. He turned and spoke to the man standing beside him in Korean.\n\n*\"You said he could translate anything!\"* the subtitles read.\n\n*\"He was listed on their website as their best translator,\"* came the reply.\n\nMr. Park caught me staring at him. He swung his leg at me, kicking me in my stomach. He spoke something in Korean but I had my eyes closed from the pain of the hit.\n\n\"Why aren't you answering me?\" he yelled in English.\n\n\"I'm sorry. I'm sorry!\" I pleaded.\n\n\"He knows too much,\" I could hear him say.\n\nI managed to open my eyes and watch just as he spoke to his bodyguard.\n\n*\"Dump him in the ocean,\"* the subtitles read. *\"He's useless. Find me someone who can actually speak Japanese next time.\"*\n\n\"No!\" I yelled. \"No, please! I can explain!\"\n\nMr. Park turned to look at me.\n\n\"Alright then, explain.\"\n\n\"I don't actually know Japanese,\" I confessed. \"I don't know any other language besides English. But, whenever someone speaks in a foreign language, I see words in English right below their heads.\"\n\nMr. Park turned to his men.\n\n*\"This little shit thinks I'm a fool,\"* he said in Korean.\n\n\"You just said, 'This little shit thinks I'm a fool.', didn't you?\" I said.\n\n\"Well, if you can see 'subtitles' then what the fuck does keikaku mean? Or nakama?\" his words practically seethed out of his mouth.\n\n\"I ... I don't know, those words appeared as is when the J-Japanese man spoke,\" I stammered. \"If you just let me Google-\"\n\nHe grabbed a gun out of his bodyguard's holster and hit me on the head with its butt.\n\n\"If Google was enough then I wouldn't have gone through the trouble of kidnapping you!\" he yelled.\n\nI was on the ground, reeling with pain. I reached up to where he had struck me and felt something warm. Blood.\n\n\"Please!\" I pleaded.\n\nMr. Park turned to the old Japanese man and bowed apologetically. Then he turned to his bodyguard once again.\n\n*\"Take care of him,\"* he said, handing him back the gun.\n\nThe bodyguard stepped forward and raised his gun. Before I could protest, he pulled the trigger -",
"I'm the world's best translator. Or so I've been told. \n\nIt's been a while since I've been the best anything, last I can remember, I was the 'most improved' participant at the swim camp I attended over the summer when I was 10 years old. I haven't swam since.\n\nThey say a rolling stone gathers no moss. I don't know much about Mick Jagger, but he doesn't really look greasy.\n\nAnyway, what I'm getting at is, I am currently the person in the world who has the best ability to translate languages. How that happened overnight, I do not know. How everyone else found out before me? Also not something I'm aware of.\n\nAll I know is that I'm supposed to be able to understand whatever this guy is shouting in my general direction. He's breathing heavy and his face is red. And there's some weird figures floating around a couple inches from the floor. It kinda looks like some kind of alphabet. Huh. Oh well. I wish I didn't have to be here right now. I don't really know what I'm doing with my life.\n\nIn fact, there's a lot of things I don't know. For example, I don't know how to read.\n\nWelcome to my life. I'm Jared, I'm 19. And I just never learned how to read."
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[WP] Two goddesses are in love with you.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I'd been out for an hour, and after loading the groceries into my car I was ready to begin the drive home. However, before I could pull the keys out of my pocket to start the car, a woman approached me. She had a lean build, was wearing all camo, and bore a large scar across her cheek. However, all that was somewhat secondary to the fact that she was carrying an assault rifle in her hands, and had two pistols, a combat knife, and a belt of grenades strapped to various parts of her body.\n\n\"You there, man. You are of sturdy build and good sensibility. Come with me, so we can sire a generation of strong warriors,\" she said.\n\n\"Excuse me?\" I asked.\n\n\"You are man, I am woman, we make children together,\" she said.\n\n\"Uh... No? I'm in a relationship already, I'm not really looking for a new girlfriend,\" I said.\n\n\"This is unfortunate,\" the woman said, continuing to stare at me. Suddenly, she snapped her head to the side, her ponytail waving through the back of her hat. \"Oh no, not again...\"\n\nI followed her eyes just in time to see another young woman wearing a glittery dress and a coat made from the fur of some unrecognizable creature. One of her hands was holding a martini glass, but both were covered in rings and dangling bracelets.\n\n\"Heeey hot stuff!\" the sparkly woman said as she got close. \"Don't mess around with that smelly riffraff, come with me! I've got all sorts of fun stuff we can do.\"\n\nAs the military woman sneered at the newcomer, I said, \"As I just told her, I'm taken right now. I guess I could introduce you to some of my friends if you two really want to-\"\n\n\"Are you? Are you quite sure you're still in a relationship?\" the woman asked, cutting me off.\n\n\"Um... fairly sure? Hang on,\" I said, pulling out my phone. I quickly called Susie's phone. After a few seconds, the phone emitted a chime before informing me that the number I had dialed was no longer in service. \"...What the hell did you do to my girlfriend?\"\n\n\"Moi? Nothing! She chose to leave entirely of her own volition... You know, once her bank account became a bit less empty,\" she said.\n\n\"Sister, you play dirty games,\" the army woman said.\n\n\"The fact that you don't know the rules doesn't mean I'm cheating!\" her sister said.\n\n\"I'm with camo on this one, you can't just bribe people to break off their relationships,\" I said.\n\n\"I only offered her a hundred dollars, so she was probably planning to break it off soon anyway,\" the sparkly woman said.\n\n\"My name is Camillia, not camo,\" the army woman said.\n\n\"Soldier girl, can you please butt out? I'm kind of in the middle of grabbing a new boy-toy!\" her sister said.\n\n\"You can't take MY new consort to be YOUR plaything, Geldina!\" Camillia said.\n\n\"Oh, can't I? Then what happened to your last two consorts?\" Geldina asked.\n\n\"HOW DARE YOU?!?!\" Camillia shouted, raising her rifle and firing several rounds into Geldina's chest.\n\nGeldina, for her part, took the hit pretty stoically until the gold blood started soaking into her dress.\n\n\"Oh, you little bitch...\" she said, before collapsing to the ground.\n\n\"Good lord,\" I said, running over and checking the collapsed woman's pulse. \"We need to call an ambulance!\"\n\n\"Waste of time,\" Camillia said.\n\n\"Waste of- She might be a jerk, but she's still your sister!\" I said.\n\nCamillia simply pointed to a nearby ATM, which opened up to allow a now uninjured Geldina to step out... Followed by a sharply dressed man who seemed to have a constant stream of black smoke billowing off his person. Geldina's corpse quickly dissolved into golden liquid, which evaporated in a matter of seconds.\n\n\"Oh really? You're bringing dad into this?\" Camillia shouted over at her sister.\n\n\"There she is! Still holding the smoking gun!\" Geldina said, tears streaming down her cherubic face.\n\nThe smoking man walked over toward us, glancing over at me before turning toward Camillia.\n\n\"Cammy, you can't just solve your romantic quarrels by murdering your rivals,\" he said.\n\n\"Oh no? I think we need a second opinion here,\" she said, pulling a canteen out of her pocket and dumping it on the ground.\n\n\"Hey! No fair! She just wants mom here because she knows she'll take her side!\" Geldina said, running over and trying to grab the canteen from her sister's hands.\n\n\"Unwise for certain, but hardly unfair. If you two can't solve your romantic squabbles without calling me in here, I don't see why your mother should be left out... Though some preparation is in order if she's on the way...\" the smoking man said. He quickly pulled a metal pole out of his jacket that seemed far too large to fit within it before driving it into the ground.\n\n\"Daddy!\" Geldina said, giving her best puppy-dog eyes while a woman in a flowing dress rose from the puddle of liquid that had been dumped on the ground. Her father just rolled his eyes.\n\n\"My child, what has happened?\" the woman asked, a cloud of thin mist forming around her. \"Oh, Lucien. What have you done to make Camillia shame herself by asking for help?\"\n\n\"Nobody's an island, Godiva! This is why we split up in the first place!\" Lucien said.\n\n\"Oh, shut up,\" Godiva said, firing a bolt of lightning from her fingertip, which arced into the pole Lucien had grounded before she arrived.\n\n\"The more things change, the more they stay the same,\" Lucien said. \"These two have a little romantic disagreement and they want us to decide who gets to take this young man as their prize.\"\n\n\"Fancy way to say she wants to steal him from me!\" Geldina said.\n\n\"I got to him first!\" Camillia said.\n\n\"He was taken when you asked him, he was single when I asked!\" Geldina said. \"Obviously only my proposition counts.\"\n\n\"Seems fair enough to me,\" Lucien said.\n\n\"He was only single because she made him single!\" Camillia said.\n\n\"All's fair in love and war,\" Godiva said.\n\n\"Mom! Not you too!\" Camillia said.\n\n\"Do I get a say in this?\" I asked.\n\n\"Your consent is not necessary,\" Godiva said.\n\n\"Dammit Godiva, this isn't the 300s BC anymore,\" Lucien said. \"Speak, boy.\"\n\n\"Apologies to you guys, but both your daughters seem awful and I don't want to date either of them,\" I said.\n\n\"That is fine, no child of mine hinges their being on another,\" Godiva said.\n\n\"Mom!\" Camillia said. \"I don't want to be alone forever! I'm strong, I should be able to take what I want!\"\n\n\"Martial skill can win you a bedmate, but not a lover. You have failed to win the affections of your chosen, so you should accept this and cut your losses so you can complete your next task,\" Godiva said, seemingly ignoring her daughter's obvious distress.\n\n\"But I have enough money to buy the world! Why would you turn down my love?\" Geldina said.\n\n\"Perhaps your mother has a point when she says I spoil you, my dear,\" Lucien said. \"I give you what you want, and I love you, but those are not the same thing. Anyone who will ignore how unpleasant you are simply because of your wealth does not actually love you.\"\n\nBoth Godiva and Lucien then began to dissolve into smoke and mist as the girls stewed in their shared defeat.\n\n\"Anyway, as I had been saying before you interrupted me to start this... argument, I do have friends that were and are single, and who MIGHT be interested in dating quirky girls with no social skills,\" I said. \"Key word being 'Might', because right now I'm not sure either of you is ready for a lasting romantic relationship.\"\n\n\"Really? You're not just going to jump into your car and drive away before we can catch up?\" Camillia asked.\n\n\"Despite my better judgement, no,\" I said. \"I actually know exactly who to set you two up with first, provided you're willing to give it a shot...\"\n\nGeldina agreed immediately, while Camillia seemed a bit more reticent about it. After a moment or two, she nodded, and the duo gave me their phone numbers so I could begin setting them up for their blind dates...\n\nThis was all within the first ten minutes of meeting them. Suffice to say, since I've now spent ten years helping these and other godlings find love, I think being declared the patron saint of wingmen has been a long time coming.",
"I stare at both of them for a few minutes. There’s an awkward silence as the two omnipotent beings stare back, waiting for my response, waiting for me to choose. \n\n“I’m seeing someone though,” I say. \n\n“That’s hardly a concern,” one of them, probably Aphrodite judging from her robes and Greecian accent, says. “It would be a trivial matter for us to remove her.” \n\n“Uh, that’s another problem,” I say, scratching the back of my head. “I’m dating a guy.” \n\n “We can change forms,” the second says. Her hair is golden and wavy, her outfit distinctly Norse. She’s probably Sif. “We can become anything you desire. And we will, to be with you.” \n\n“That’s *another* problem,” I say. “I’m asexual.” \n\nThere’s a beat of silence followed by a snort from Sif. “Ah, I should have figured,” she says. \n\n“What?!” Aphrodite shrieks. “Then why are you dating someone?!” \n\n“Because I’m demiromantic?” I says, increasingly hesitantly. “Did- did Artemis not explain what that is to you? Because I’m reasonably sure that’s what she is too.” \n\nSif is laughing harder and harder. Aphrodite winds back and I sigh. I should’ve figured I wouldn’t survive this."
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